Reputation
by cgal120
Summary: "She was a transfer. That's one of the things that I could remember from my first meeting with Amelia Jones. There are some things that just stay with you, things that you will always remember. Like your first kiss, your first dance, your first love. Amelia was all of that for me and I remember all of it as though it happened yesterday." UKxFem!US. Arthur's POV
1. Beginning

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter One**_

_**Beginning**_

She was a transfer.

That's one of the things that I could remember from my first meeting with Amelia Jones. There are some things that just stay with you, things that you will always remember. Like your first kiss, your first dance, your first love.

Amelia was all of that for me and I remember all of it as though it happened yesterday.

It was early October and I was sat alone in the first classroom I had to be in for my Friday timetable. That was one of the things that I disliked about college, the funny hours that we had to keep. In this case I was in from 9:15am until 5:15pm, but because the bus system in my hometown was such a farce, I had ended up getting the 8:30 bus meaning that I had a good 30 minutes before I was actually needed in the classroom. Thankfully, David, the head tech manager was opening the classroom doors as I arrived and allowed me to sit in the classroom by myself.

I'd been in the Media course for a mere month already but I was getting the hang of where things were kept in each classroom. This classroom was pretty much the easiest one that I had to sort things out in though. It was more of a storeroom, it was that small. It was an odd beige colour with the windows in the front of the room behind the board meaning that the blinds had to be properly pulled down in order for the projector to actually make an image on the screen that was to be pulled down. There was a very thin walkway between the two columns of tables; 3 tables for 2 placed on the left hand side and 6 tables for 4 on the right hand side. The computer at the front of the room was an old PC that was on its out but I decided to turn it on anyway so that it would be warmed up for when our Industries lecturer, Susan, came in to use it. I glanced behind me and looked at the strange mirror on the right hand wall; we had been coming up with a theory that it was one of those one sided windows like they have in police shows. It made me a little paranoid to stand there and think that there might be someone on the other side of that mirror watching me, so I moved to the table at the back on the left had side, right in the corner.

I was one of those people that liked to do the best I could but still manage to stay blended into the background. Trouble was something that I was keen to avoid, but I soon learnt with the sheer variety of characters that I was faced with in this class that trouble was going to find me no matter what I did.

I kept to myself pretty much after an incident had happened during my second week of class. It hadn't been my fault, but a couple of people that had come into the class with me from senior school had refused to talk to me ever since.

I wasn't particularly fussed; they were too bitchy and immature for my liking anyway.

With very little other to do, I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a notebook, placing it on the table before grabbing a pen from my pencil case and dumping my bag on the floor again. Media student, I may be, but I was still a writer at heart. That was one of the things that I really wanted to when I left college; yes, all the media aspects were fantastic to me like graphics and radio but I was still a novelist. I never told anyone else about my stories though, so they were my own little form of escapism when times in the classroom just got too difficult to bear.

So, there I was, alone in that dingy little classroom with nothing but my fantasy characters for company. I jumped slightly as the classroom door opened and one of my classmates walked inside.

Antonio.

He was a tall Spaniard with the thickest curls I had ever seen. It was something that he seemed proud about, simply because it had landed him with one of the prettiest girls in the building. He was texting someone as he walked inside, his backpack slung over one shoulder and headphones in his ears blaring out some guitar tune that I couldn't name. He didn't even seem to realise that I was in the room until he looked around and jumped as he spotted me.

Pulling his headphones out quickly, he looked at me apologetically and nodded slightly.

"¡Hola, Arthur," he said, scratching his head slightly. He seemed awkward, probably embarrassed about jumping so badly but I made no comment.

"Hello, Antonio," I replied. "Are you okay today? You had a date last night, right?"

Finally relaxing, Antonio chuckled and nodded, a sly grin forming on his face. He was a year older than me so I knew that he had a little bit more experience than me.

Alright, a hell of a lot more experience than me, but I was waiting…

"Oh, sí," he said. "Lovina was very-"

"Please spare me all the details," I said, chuckling slightly. That was one of the quirks that Antonio seemed to have; his ability to just tell people about his sex life without a care in the world. And when he got going, well, it was a wonder how Lovina still managed to keep her dignity.

"Right," Antonio chuckled, smiling as he received yet another text. "How long till class?"

Glancing at my watching, I sighed a little at the time but looked back at Antonio and said, "15 minutes."

"Great!" he said, putting a headphone back in. "I'm going to go meet Lovina, I'll see you later."

Resigning myself to being alone again, I got my own iPod out of my bag and put my headphones in. I pressed play and let the music shuffle itself before continuing to write my story.

I was still getting used to the characters like Antonio. There were a fair few in my class; Lovina was in our class too, as was her twin sister Feliciana. They were almost as bad as each other, but where Lovina was fairly stuck up Feliciana was kind and warm. We had a group project a week or so ago where we had to pick a topic and make a presentation for the class to debate on. Feliciana was in my group and got ever so confused about our subject; the phone hacking scandal. I helped her with her parts and made sure she was okay for the presentation; we got a distinction and she came in with a tub of homemade cookies for me the next week.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

A few minutes passed, 2 songs worth on my iPod, before I caught a glimpse of some movement in my peripheral vision. I looked round and took my headphones out when I spotted a girl that I had never seen before.

She was shorter than I was, but still fairly tall. Her hair was blonde and curl, cut into a bob with her fringe pinned to the side by a red clip shaped like a star. She was wearing a peculiar brown bomber jacket, dark skinny jeans and a long shirt with an American flag on the front. Her skin was lightly tanned and she had such deep blue eyes that I almost stared. Catching myself in time, I managed to realise that she looked incredibly nervous so I smiled at her to try and ease her nerves in some way.

She looked at me for a moment then smiled back slightly, a small smile that seemed to say she was started to trust me despite not knowing my name or even hearing me speak.

"I've not seen you around her before," I finally said. "Uh, my name's Arthur Kirkland."

"Amelia Jones," she replied, getting a piece of paper from the right pocket and looking at it. "This is room 875, right?"

"Yes, that's right," I said, nodding slightly. "You're new I gather."

"Yeah," she said, fiddling with the paper nervously. "Ha… I'm never normally this nervous."

"First day in a new place, it's bound to be scary," I said. "Here, you can come sit next to me if you want to. At least you'll have someone to talk to."

Amelia smiled a bit more and tentatively sat in the seat beside mine, putting her bag on the floor under the table. She put her paper on the table and glanced at me so I tilted my head and looked a little confused.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"C-could I stick with you today?" she asked quietly. "I don't know where I'm going and there's this big gap on here and…"

"I'll stay with you," I said, smiling and putting my hand on her arm slightly. "I was scared my first day too, I get it."

"Thanks, Arthur," Amelia replied gratefully, smiling a little more and showing me the paper. It was her timetable, the exact same one that I had been given at the beginning of the year. I knew all the rooms now and knew that she'd be able to cope in a while but it was still nice to be needed.

We both looked around as the door opened again, watching as other class members started to enter the room and take their usual seats. A couple kept glancing over at Amelia, some giving her funny looks as though they recognised her in some way. Amelia kept her head down though, avoiding the glances of the other people. She seemed too scared to just be nervous for hew first day, leading me to think that something more must have happened to cause her to have come to this college.

"Hey, everyone," said Susan, the lecturer, as she walked into the room laden with folders. "Has everyone had a nice week?" There were murmurs through the room about how "shit" and "god-awful" the week had been so far so Susan simply chuckled and shook her head at them. "Well, we have a new assignment to start today which I hope you're going to like."

"Not likely," said Gilbert, a third year student who had been held back so long I was certain he was going to be here for many years after I left. Susan rolled her eyes at him as she put the folders down, then glanced to her right slightly and spotted Amelia. She smiled at her, Amelia smiling a little back.

"You must be our new girl," she said.

"Yeah," Amelia replied, rubbing her hands nervously on her legs. "That's me."

"Well, everyone seems to be here so why don't you come to the front and introduce yourself?" Susan smiled, motioning to the front of the classroom as everyone started to stare at her. Amelia glanced at me anxiously so I nodded encouragingly, the girl getting to her feet and walking to the front of the room. She nearly tripped on the laces of her Converse sneakers, but made it to the front and looked at everyone.

"H-hi," she said. "My name's Amelia Jones, and I'm a transfer from Bankford College."

"I thought I recognised her," muttered Elizabeta, another third year student; she was here by choice though. I looked round at her confused, the girl looking back at me with an expression that said 'you are so fucked'. I frowned and looked back at Amelia who seemed to have heard her too. She looked at her feet as she walked back to her seat, seeming to melt into it as she sat. I didn't like it.

The first half of the lesson progressed with very little incident. We needed to be in pairs for the new assignment, so I volunteered to work with Amelia to get her used to the system we worked with.

"Okay guys," Susan said. "Go take a break; I can see some of you are dying for a fag." She paused for the usual cultural-difference-sniggering. "A cigarette then," she said, rolling her eyes. "We'll be going to 978 in the North East Building next so be there in 15 minutes or you won't be getting a break next week and will get escorted there by me."

With nods and mutters, we all gather our belongings and left the room. Amelia stuck close to me, holding her bag close to her. I glanced at her, not liking the defeated look on her face. But as we were walking up the hallway, we were stopped by Elizabeta.

"I'd be careful with that one, Arthur," she said.

I looked at her carefully and frowned. "And why would I want to do that?"

"She's a lying whore, that's why!"

Not expecting that, I looked at Amelia for a moment then back to Elizabeta. "Grow up."

"She wasn't transferred! She was kicked out of that college for fucking a teacher!"

"I heard she blackmailed him too," Lovina added.

"Look, why don't you guys just back off," I snapped. "Is there any evidence?"

"The fact she's here, so nervous, and the papers."

"Papers?"

"It was in the news! She wasn't named but of course it was her! The teacher said she was manipulative, trouble and a compulsive liar. She didn't deny it."

I looked at them then to Amelia; she was nearly in tears, her head hung low and her frame shaking slightly.

"I don't care," I said. "Even if that is true, everyone deserves a second chance and it's not fair that you're starting a witch hunt on something you don't even know is true. The teacher would have been sacked if it were. He's not been has he?"

"No…"

"Then don't jump to conclusions," I snapped. "For all you know, it may have been a completely different story. We take a journalism course, and if any of you had ever bothered to show up you would know not to believe everything you read in the papers."

The group who had stayed looked at me for a long moment, Elizabeta looking as though she was going to falter. She looked at Amelia, and then sighed.

"I guess everyone deserves their chance to be heard…" she said.

Amelia sniffed slightly and looked up, wiping her eyes. "I-I'm not going to say the w-whole story…" she said. "But I can p-promise you, I d-didn't want any of that to happen… I wasn't in the wrong…"

"He took advantage of you?" Lovina asked.

"Don't pester her, Lovi," Antonio said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "She'll talk in her own time."

Amelia managed a small grateful smile, so I rummaged through my bag for a pack of tissues and gave one to her.

"Everyone is so quick to rip each other's throats out," I said, looking at the others. "Maybe next time you'll think to learn the whole story before attacking someone like that."

Though some still looked as though they were judging Amelia still, a few nodded ashamedly and muttered apologies to her; the girl nodding to them as they walked past on their way to have a cigarette.

I looked back at her and put my hands on her arms, smiling slightly. "Sorry about them," I said. She shook her head and wiped her eyes again.

"It's fine," she said. "I was expecting it… It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together…"

I nodded and looked at the time, motioning for us to walk and talk. "About what happened back then…"

"I'll probably tell you one day," Amelia said, cutting me off.

"Really?"

"I trust you, Arthur," she said, rubbing her arms. "But I'm not ready yet… I just met you and…"

"It's a big deal that I have no right to pry into," I said, finishing her sentence for her.

"Kind of," she said, nodding her agreement. "Trust doesn't come to me easily these days… but you're proving me wrong."

"Well, I'll be here whenever you want to talk about it," I said. "I'll pretend to be a therapist."

She laughed at that, shaking her head and wiping her eyes again. "Thanks, Arthur."

"Any time."

_**Notes:**_

**Okay, so this is a new story that I've decided to work on to get out of a block. I found a 30 day challenge on Tumblr with prompts and decided to turn it into a story. So, this is the first prompt "beginning". The next prompt/chapter will be sorted tomorrow as well as anything I can get sorted :)**

**I will try to be as careful as I can with some of the topics that I want to tackle in this, and I hope I've started off okay.**

**Also, for a 1st person story, this is another practice for a different style for me. I wrote a long one shot from Arthur's POV a while ago and it went pretty well, so I've decided to try again. However, you often find stories like this, hetero, where it's from the girl's POV when written by a girl. I wanted to flip it a little, so I've decided to explore the guys POV instead.  
**

**Fuck conventions XD  
**

**Expect 30 chapters.**

**See you soon! :)**


	2. Accusation

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Two**_

_**Accusation**_

The following few weeks after the incidents of Amelia's first day seemed to pass in an awkward silence. Of the people who had confronted her during that break-time, only 3 people had decided to give her a chance. Neither of us were particularly fussed that the others were still acting as though they were in school, only because it was nothing going on to Amelia's face that could hurt her.

She continued to hang around with me, I think because I was the first person to actually give her a chance. Maybe it was because I was the only one that really treated her like another human being that did it, but I really didn't mind. I had a good friend in Amelia; I trusted that she knew she had a good friend in me.

It was coming to the end of the month, and because our college was like most of the others in which all but a few classes could wear regular clothing in place of a uniform the Student Union had sent out a letter through our tutor groups stating that if we so wished we could come into college wearing Halloween costumes on the 31st of October.

My class was one of the many on campus that embraced that opportunity with open arms, especially as Halloween was falling on our Wednesday session that year. Wednesday was always our favourite day of the week, class-wise that was. Mondays were free days so naturally they were the best, but for classes it was always Wednesdays.

We had Graphics first thing for 3 ours, then a two hour break before going to the less enthusiastic Critical Analysis lesson with our tutor, but with the projects we were working on in that lesson it was still pretty good.

Another reason that we all loved the Graphics lessons aside from the creativity that we could pursue was the fact that we had a pretty brilliant lecturer. Mike, not Michael he would always press, was the biggest nerd that anyone of us had ever met, but he still managed to be cool. Some of the class joked that he was hipster what with his glasses in that style, but nobody really cared about that because he seemed able to talk about anything with anyone.

Where I sat at the front of the room, on the mac closest to the door, Mike would always come over and talk to me about books and films and TV shows. I found he was a big fan of most of the things I liked and I found my early starts on Wednesday that bit more enjoyable because I could just sit in the classroom with him and talk for a little while before the class came in.

I can tell you this now that for the first time, I felt rather normal in the way that I dressed on the bus. I was on the 39 again, sat right at the front on one of the two seats that faced sideways. I'd moved because at the second stop we got to a woman was struggling to get a buggy onto the bus. I'd helped her then taken up the new seat, the woman thanking me to the point that some of the other students on the bus were muttering about me being a suck up.

I didn't say anything to them though; I was brought up to be a gentleman, and it was just in my nature to help anyone in distress. If it were an elderly gentlemen struggling with a trolley or some shopping, I would have helped him too.

But, I digress.

I couldn't help but look around the bus as I sat waiting to get into college; it really was a peculiar sight. I could hear the little girl in the woman's pram giggling to her hearts content as she looked at all the funny looking costumes.

There were zombies, werewolves, ghosts, tramps, tarts, maids, nurses, doctors, fairies, witches, superheroes…

I felt as though I was going to some peculiar school in a Scooby Doo movie.

As for my costume, I had decided to go with my gut instinct. Although the second series was yet to be released, I was still an enormous fan of the BBC Sherlock serious; not only that but the original works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Young Sherlock series by Andrew Lane. Basically, I was a fan boy for that series.

So, there I was sat on the bus with a big navy trench coat, blue scarf and dark suit surrounded by a variety of whacky characters and sat next to someone who looked as though they could be one of the hounds of the Baskervilles.

I was inwardly having too much fun.

It was then that I realised from past travels that at the stop we were just coming up to, one round the corner from my old secondary school on a very narrow winding round, was just outside Amelia's house and that she would be getting onto the bus at any second now. I was secretly wondering what costume she could be wearing as she was very open with me about what kinds of shows, books and movies she liked.

She had told me one time that though she absolutely loved Halloween, she was terrified of zombies, ghosts and ghouls. I had chuckled and jokingly said that I would protect her if any zombies tried to get her and she'd hugged me and kept saying 'thank you'.

I saw her stood at the bus stop just as we were pulling up and my eyes widened slightly at the sight I was receiving. She got onto the bus with ease, the red boots she was wearing flat for walking (I assumed). I could tell that she was wearing skin-coloured tights, but the blue skirt she was wearing stopped halfway down her thighs. She had a red and white strippy corset type thing on around her waist pinning down a long sleeved, skin tight blue top which was the exact same colour as the skirt. Despite her hair coming out from underneath it, she was also wearing a helmet/mask type object on her head with had painted on wings at the side and an A on the forehead. Her bag had also been changed to fit the occasion; it was no circular, red and white rings circling round to a blue circle in the middle which held a big white star. She showed her bus pass then spotted me as she came over; I shifted out of my seat and let her take it, opting to stand opposite her and lean against the metal bars of the luggage holder.

"Thanks," she grinned, holding her bag close to her on her lap. "I like your costume, Arthur! Sherlock Holmes, right? You should have totally added the hat to it!"

"No; this version doesn't have the hat yet, I don't think," I said; not really remembering at that point, as I was still so distracted by her costume. "Thanks though. Your costume though! It's amazing! You're… a female… Captain America, right? I am right, aren't I?"

She giggled at me and nodded, smiling brightly. "Yeah, that's right! I'm the gender-swapped first avenger!" she said, giving me a thumb up. "He's my favourite superhero. He was my great-grandpa's and my grandpa's favourite too! My great-grandpa started to collect the comics when they first came out in the 40s, and always shared them with me as he got new ones too. But then he died but he'd given them to my grandpa and he kept sharing them with me. He's given all of them to me now, I don't know why though. I mean, he's still here. He lives just across the green, not even 5 minutes from my house…"

"I wouldn't think too much into it," I said, trying to comfort her. I knew that she was probably thinking the worse; her great-grandfather had given them to his son (I assumed that was the relation) before he died and now he's given them to her. Either he was a very generous man or…

"I know," she said. "I can't help it though… He means the world to me."

"Well, whatever happens, you know you can always come to me," I said, smiling at her reassuringly. She nodded and smiled back, playing with the hem of her skirt as I noticed a faint dusting of pink spread across her cheeks. I chuckled softly and shook my head, holding on tightly to stop myself from falling over as we reached the sharp corner that lead up to the college. Amelia pressed the button to get the driver to stop at the stop outside the college, holding her bag close as we both got off as the doors opened.

She was slowly getting the hang of the layout of the campus now, but still needed a little guidance now and then. Sticking close to me, she walked through the corridors looking around with interest as she saw other superheroes and villains and monsters. Someone dressed as a zombie jumped around the corner and screeched at her, causing her to jump and cling onto my arm. The person chuckled then apologised to her, Amelia nodding but still holding onto my arm with shaking hands. I felt sorry for her so put my arm around her shoulders to try and keep her calm.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Y-yeah…" she said. "I just don't like zombies…"

"I know."

When we managed to get to the classroom, having managed to find a detour around the hectic-ness that was occurring in the main café on campus (a live band was performing in the corner, putting on a spooky concert all day), we looked through the circular porthole type window and spotted Mike in the classroom at his computer sorting out the workshop that we had to work through that day.

We grinned at each other, noticing that he was dressed like the 10th Doctor from Doctor Who (the one portrayed by David Tennant). I couldn't hold myself back when I saw it; I had to walk inside and pretend to be Sherlock.

"So, Doctor, we meet at last," I said, trying to hold back a smile as I heard Amelia giggle behind me. Mike jumped slightly then looked at me and chuckled.

"Mr Holmes, I guess," he responded. "I have to say it's an honour; now there's more than one genius in the room."

"Stop it, guys, I can't breathe!"

Mike and I grinned and looked round at Amelia; the girl was holding her arms around her ribs, laughing so much I could see tears in her eyes.

"Nice costume, Mike," I smiled, helping Amelia into her seat beside mine.

"You too," he replied. "It's very authentic. And Miss America! Might I say you make a very pretty Captain."

"Thanks!" Amelia grinned, standing up and twirling in her skirt. "It took me ages to make but I think it turned out well!"

"You made it yourself?" Mike asked, sitting on the table by us.

"Uh huh!" replied Amelia; she then rummaged through her big-shield-bag and pulled out the wallet that held her iPad (a tool that we were requested to bring in just in case computers became unavailable). She loaded up a document on it and showed it to Mike. "I drew it all myself and used Photoshop to do all the colouring and textiles and things. Then I made it to wear!"

"You've got a talent for pop-art," Mike said, looking at the design and zooming in on different areas of it. "I'm impressed."

"Thanks," she said, blushing a little. I was starting to realise that she did that with every compliment she received, I didn't know why though.

As Mike handed back Amelia's iPad, other members of the class started to come in in their costumes. Compliments were being made, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the hilarity of seeing Gilbert dressed like a devil whilst still drinking Monster. I just found something ironic in it, like it was some cheesy promotional campaign.

After a few minutes of excitement over each other's costumes, Mike finally managed to get the class to quiet down. It wasn't really that easy for him considering he was dressed as the Doctor and many people were asking him to get his sonic screwdriver out.

Mike took it in his stride though, managing to give us the instruction that we needed before letting us get on with our tasks.

We were to find as many facts as we could, put them on a mind-map, print them and pick the best to make into a gif.

Amelia and I had started to work together, finding a site that had a lot of funny facts on it.

"Look! Look!" said Amelia, pointing to her screen and grinning. "There are two golf balls on the moon!"

"How about this one?" I replied. "Over 1000 birds die annually from flying into windows."

"Over a thousand people die annually by getting squashed by vending machines."

I burst out laughing at that one. "Okay, you can take that one; I'll take the bird one. I have an idea for it."

"'Kay!" she grinned, writing down a few more. We pressed print at the same time, so Amelia volunteered to go wait by the printer. I watched her go, noticing Elizabeta leave the room quickly after talking to Mike. Her computer was right next to the printer and I could see her phone just lying there. Gilbert shifted over to the printer from his seat to get something from it too, but Amelia did at the same time as she reached to get the paper from the printer and when she came back over to me nothing seemed to have changed.

Handing me my work, everything in the room continued as it was until Elizabeta returned. She walked straight back to her seat but we were all instantly aware that something wasn't right.

"WHERE'S MY PHONE?" she shouted, causing everyone to jump and looked round at her.

"Liz, please quiet down," Mike said, walking over to her. "What's the matter?"

"My fucking phone is gone!" she snapped, pointing to the desk. "It was on the desk where I was told to leave it and now it's gone!"

"Who's taken Liz's phone, then?" Mike said, looking round at the class. "You won't be in trouble if you just hand it over now."

"Amelia was the last one by the printer," said Kiku quietly. Everyone glanced at him, and then turned on Amelia. She shrunk in her seat and shook her head, looking at Mike and Liz.

"I swear I didn't take it…"

"You're a thief!" Liz snapped. "I knew I shouldn't have given you a fucking chance!"

"Liz, we don't know she took it and calling her a thief is a very serious accusation," Mike said. "Amelia, could you just empty you bag for us?"

"No," she said. "I don't have it."

"Gilbert was by the printer too!" I tried to say, but Liz was having none of it.

"GIVE ME MY PHONE!" she said, hurrying over and taking Amelia's bag from her before she could do anything more than blink. Rushing to her feet, Amelia got her bag back but knew now, it seemed, that she really had to empty it. Slowly, she put everything on the table: her iPad, phone, keys, pens, drink, bus pass, and a pouch that looked very oriental. Liz grabbed it before Amelia could protest and rummaged through it, pulling out a pad and a pair of knickers.

It was one of _those_ pouches. A 'private' pouch.

"WOO, PANTIES!" Gilbert called out, some of the other boys wolf whistling. Amelia blushed deeply and grabbed it away from Liz who smirked at her. I didn't like that smirk and it seemed Mike didn't either. He finally managed to focus on the girls after trying to get the class from spectating. Amelia had tears in her eyes, quickly stuffing everything back into her bag before running from the room.

"Amelia!" I called out, looking at Liz who just walked back to her seat. I watched as Gilbert slyly gave her phone back without anyone else noticing and glared. They'd planned that.

Mike came over to me and saw my work was finished, so took Amelia's seat.

"Arthur, if you want to go find her, then just save everything and go," he said before going back to the class. I did want to find her; she shouldn't be alone at a time like that. So, I quickly saved all my work and hers before shutting down the computer and leaving the room.

I had no idea where to look for her so got my phone from my bag and texted her.

_Where are you?_

I got no reply.

With a sigh, I started to wander around; asking people whether they'd seen a girl-Captain-America running around anywhere. I couple just took the piss out of me, but finally one girl dressed as a shepherdess gave me some helpful information.

"I saw her running down the street outside," she said. "I think she might have got on the bus."

"Thank you so much," I said, heading in the very same direction. If Amelia were to run anywhere it would be home. The 39 arrived every 15 minutes, meaning that I had 5 to get to the stop. By the time I had got there, I was panting having had to dodge many people and cars. When the bus arrived, I flagged it down then showed the driver my pass before taking a seat.

10 minutes later I was getting off of the bus outside of Amelia's house.

I opened the front gate, the iron frame creaking as it moved. I guess the sound must have been heard inside as the door opened just as I got to it. I looked up at the man who'd opened it cautiously, hoping to seem normal despite my costume.

The man was blonde like Amelia, with blue eyes and an odd beard on his chin. His hair was a little longer than Amelia's but styled to a way that suited him annoyingly well.

"Who are you?" he asked, a French accent showing.

"Uh, my name is Arthur Kirkland," I said, stepping forwards. "I'm a friend of Amelia's from college. She ran off earlier and I wondered if she was here?"

"Arthur…" the man pondered. "Oh, oui, I remember ma petite ange mentioning you before."

"Um, are you her father?" I asked stupidly.

"Oui, I understand your confusion though," he replied. "My name is Francis Bonnefoy." He shook my hand and let me into his house. "She seemed upset when she came in… I never saw her because she shut herself in her room so quickly. What happened?"

"Some people in class were…" I started to say but sighed. "They kind of humiliated her…"

"What happened?" Francis asked, slightly more firmly this time.

"One girl accused her of stealing her phone but it was planned between her and a guy in class to frame her… They got the teacher to get her to empty her bag but the girl got into this pouch and pulled out some knickers and flashed them to the class… I tried to stop it but…"

"I understand," Francis said, rubbing his face. "I was afraid something like this would happen… She's so trouble and after the incident at the other college… I knew this would happen…"

"Is it okay if I go see her?" I asked.

"Of course…" he replied. "First door on the left."

Nodding, I made my way upstairs and looked for Amelia's room; knocking on the door I assumed Francis had been talking about. I heard a muffled sob come from inside, so opened the door tentatively and saddened at the sight.

Amelia was curled up on her bed, hugging a pillow against her face which she was sobbing into. Her bag was thrown aside with the mask and her whole frame was shaking as she cried.

I hated the sight so went over to her and carefully sat on the edge of her bed. "Amelia."

She jumped slightly and looked up at me, doing nothing more than shifting to hug me tightly. I closed my eyes and made her sit on my lap, wrapping my arms around her and cradling her protectively. I could feel her crying against him collarbone, her hands gripping my jacket tightly. I rocked her gently and muttered things to her soothingly, glancing to the door when I saw it move slightly.

Francis looked at us oddly for a moment before saddening as I had. He looked at me in a way that asked me if she'd spoken so I responded with a shake of my head. He nodded to me then left us alone, so I continued to hold close to me.

Kissing the top of her head, I looked down at her as she started to calm down. She looked up at me, blushing as she realised what I had just done.

"I'm sorry I didn't protect you from the real monsters," I said, Amelia shaking her head and hugging me tighter.

"Arthur… Why do you like me?" she said, looking at me with such open, damp eyes.

"Because I know you're special," I responded, looking straight back at her. "You're special and worth every chance in the world."

Tearing up again, she gave me a kiss on the cheek before hiding against my neck to cry again. I blushed deeply but didn't let her go. I didn't know why, but I knew that I was never going to let her go.

_**Notes:**_

**And prompt two "Accusation" is done.**

**I got a fair bit of inspiration from incidents that actually happened in my class. So, I'm still working on being PC with it all, but how can you be with bullying? It's not as clean cut as most "official" people would have it be, and from my own experience, it's always that victim that's punished.**

**On a side note, I wanted to make Francis the father figure in this one for Amelia because I will be having Mattie in it at some point, and I have a back story to come in that will explain things further :)**

**I hope you continue to follow this story and my others. This is going on Deviantart as well as Livejournal so if you have an account on there look out for it :)**


	3. Restless

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Restless**_

Francis had called the college when he had left Amelia and I alone. He told me when I'd gone downstairs to get the sobbing a girl a glass of water. He was leaning against the kitchen side, his head in one hand. I walked into the room tentatively, if only not to disturb him but he knew that I was there as soon as I'd got down stairs.

"Arthur, how long has this bullying been happening?" he asked me.

"I… Well, not this bad but the same girl confronted her on her first day," I admitted. "She told me to stay away from her cos… in her words, bear in mind, 'she's a lying a whore'…"

"And you stuck by her anyway?"

"I don't like bullies."

Francis looked up at me and nodded. "She's not had it very easy since… well, she's been very troubled since the incident at the old college… She has told you, non?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I didn't want to pry or make her feel awkward so said I'd wait until she was comfortable talking about it…"

"You're the first to do that then," he muttered, running his hand through his hair. "What do you know about what happened from hearing stories then?"

"Liz said that she'd had sex with a teacher and tried to blackmail him," I said. "But I don't believe it. I think something happened to her but the wrong person was punished."

Francis nodded, moving across the room and opening a cupboard. I watched as he pulled out a bottle of wine then got a glass from another cupboard. He glanced at me as he poured himself out some of the red liquid before resealing the bottle and putting it away.

"One calms my nerves when I think about what Amie's been through," he muttered, sipping from the glass. "Amelia had a very bad experience with one of the teachers at her last college… He was a brute, to put it bluntly. She won't speak of it though. Even I don't know the full extent of what happened… But she acts out because of it… Her mother and I, we don't know what to do about it anymore…"

"Well, she has me now too," I said, shifting my bag onto my other shoulder. "She knows she's not alone so…"

"I know."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Amelia and I never went back to college that day. My only excuse was I just couldn't leave her alone in the state she had gotten herself into. Amelia's excuse didn't need words; just looking at her spoke volumes louder than anything I could have come up with.

We spent the rest of the day in her bedroom watching movies. She'd gotten into bed in the time that I'd been downstairs talking to Francis, and when I'd come back into her room she was already watching a movie. She made me sit down next to her asking if I wanted to get into the bed too.

"No," I said, simply putting my arm around her. "You need it more than I do."

Looking at me for a moment, she sniffed and lent her head on me. "Thanks, Arthur…"

The afternoon moved along swiftly because of the movies. We managed to get through 3 before a knocking sounded on Amelia's bedroom door.

"Come in," she said, trying to make her voice sound less like she'd been crying. We both watched as the door opened and a boy looked in on us. He looked extremely like Amelia, even his hair was a similar length despite it being just a shade lighter. His eyes were a darker blue than Amelia's, more like Francis'. He had a weird curl sticking out of the front of his hair line, and wore glasses.

"Mattie," Amelia said.

The boy, Mattie, looked at us both before moving further into the room. He looked at me more suspiciously than I was expecting, but then again I was a stranger.

"Arthur, what are you doing here?" he suddenly asked.

I blinked in surprise, tilting my head a little. "How do you know my name?"

"You're on the mixed/print course right?" he asked me.

"Yes…"

"I'm in the other class," he said. "We sat together on the first day because I was sent to the other group."

I thought back to that day, trying to remember him. Then it hit me. "Matthew Williams," I said, almost smacking my head. "Sorry, I didn't remember you… I don't really see you a lot. What are you doing here then?"

"He's my brother," Amelia said, looking up at me. I blinked, showing my obvious surprise. I did feel like a bit of an idiot though because of how strikingly similar they are. "We're twins."

"I'm the oldest though," Matthew smirked. Amelia threw one of her teddies over at him, laughing as it hit Matthew in the head. He chuckled and shook his head, throwing it back. "Anyway, Arthur, what are you doing here?"

I glanced at Amelia who looked at her lap but nodded that I could tell him. "Things happened at college today," I explained. "People in the class turned on Amelia and picked on her so bad she left walked out… So, I came to find her…"

"They were picking on you?" Matthew asked, looking at his sister as he moved deeper into the room. Nodding a little, Amelia looked up at him and teared up again.

"They heard about the stuff at the other college," she said. I got up off of the bed to make room for Matthew, knowing this time Amelia needed her older brother's comfort. I stood to the side and watched as Matthew took my place, wrapping his arms around his broken sister and holding her close.

"I'll leave you two alone," I said quietly. "I'll see you later."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

I had a very large, mostly successful family so standards on my part were being set very high by my mother and father. As such, because I was no in college and nearing the end of my full-time education, it was up to me to find myself my first job in order to get used to supporting myself.

My parents had this very strict idea of how they wanted us all to turn out, and so far it was working pretty well. I say 'strict', but it was really more of a guideline. They wanted us to have a full education; whether that meant spending more than two years in college before going to university or just the mandatory 2 years and university. Basically, university was the final part of education and it was mandatory that we complied with our parents' wishes.

So, I had managed to get myself a little Saturday job in the local news agents. I got a good salary for just working 1pm to 5:30pm but it was a cushy little job and I had come to like it a fair amount.

I was rarely ever bored in there, which very much a perk of that job that it gave me something fun to do on a Saturday afternoon. Naturally, there would be moments that the shop would just be dead and I would be talking to the little older lady, Carol, that I had to work with (I was only 16 so I wasn't legally allowed to sell the cigarettes alone so needed someone to supervise me). Occasionally I would do some cleaning, though Carol would insist on doing the vacuuming herself, but most of the time I would be sorting out the sweets and making sure that there were plenty of 20p pick-n-mix's sorted and ready for any of the little kids that came into the store.

I was saving up my money from my job to pay for my contribution to a birthday treat that was going to happen for me in the next few days. My birthday was on the 5th of November, a mere 4 days away and because I'd had the job since the summer holidays 2 months previously, I had managed to scrape together a fair amount of cash.

A group of us were going to go to the cinema and then bowling; myself, Amelia, Matthew, his girlfriend Sofia, Lovina, Feliciana, Ludwig and Antonio. We'd all made sure it was fine, myself and Matthew making certain that there would be no problems between anyone and Amelia. Thankfully, these were the people who believed her to be innocent.

We'd arranged it all through private messages on NoteSpring, a social networking site that was used by all of the people in our class. Basically, we used it to keep in contact with each other for free on our phones and computers. There were all sorts of options, from posting images and films, to answering questions and making statuses. People commented on everything every second and some of it was downright disgusting.

I never used it all that much for personal things; I never really wrote statuses, it was more of a way to keep connected without actually talking to the bitchy people in person.

That day in the shop the busy spike had happened right as I had shown up to swap over from the morning shift people. We ended up getting a queue right the way back to the door but I was able to get through them quick enough once my till was sorted out and freed for my use. But apart from the dribs and drabs of people that flittered in and out of the shop now and then that was the busiest part of that day.

Another thing that I did during those moments of calm was look at the cigarette shelves behind the counter and study the names and brand styles. I had no idea because I wasn't that much of a smoker; I mean, why would I spend £8 of my hard earned money on something that was guaranteed to kill me one day?

That was what I was doing when I heard the buzzer above the door ring signally another customer was in. I turned back round ready to serve them as Carol was at the end of the second aisle sorting out different cards leaving me to practice with the tills a bit more. I smiled as I saw who it was; Amelia.

She had a can of Coke in one hand and what looked like a card in the other, and the look that came to her face when she saw me behind the counter was priceless; she wasn't expecting to see me there at all.

"Good afternoon, Miss," I smiled, playing up to the shopkeeper role I could see her toying with in her mind. "How can help you?"

"I was going to get this drink and card," she said. "But it's your birthday card so I can't now."

"Just give me the code and I'll find the price on the chart I have back here," I said. "Cards don't scan so I won't even have to look at it."

"You'll know how much I'm spending though," Amelia pouted.

"I don't care how much you spend," I replied. "You could spend 1p on me and I wouldn't care because you gave me a thought."

Looking at me for a moment, she seemed to think it over before smiling at me. "Fine," she said, turning around so that I couldn't see the card as she looked for the code. "100/FF."

Chuckling softly, I moved along the counter to the unit with the codes and looked for the one she'd said. "Amie… This card is £3.65," I said, moving back over to the till. "That's the dearest card we sell."

"You're worth it," she smiled. "Now put the code in and scan my can!"

Laughing, I typed in the price for the card then scanned the can as requested. "That comes to £4.50 please." She handed me a £5 note from her purse and I gave her back the 50p she was owed. However, as I made the transaction, my phone went off in my pocket. Surprised as I never got texts at work before, I got my phone out and checked the message.

It was from Antonio.

_Look at Amelia's NoteSpring page… Someone made a fake profile and started slamming her… It's the only one with a cartoon as the DP…_

Frowning, I looked at Amelia for a moment then sighed. "You're phone's better at Internet than mine," I said. "We need it quick…"

"Why?"

"Someone's made a fake profile on NoteSpring and started… slamming you…" I confessed and in an instant her phone was out of her purse and in her hand searching the Internet. She turned and showed me her profile, both of us staring at the messages she was being sent.

_Whore_

_Slut_

_I bet she has diseases_

_Skank_

"W-why are people doing this?" Amelia said behind the hand muffling her mouth. Tears were forming in her eyes and I felt so angry at whoever was doing this to her.

"That cartoon profile picture is the fake one I think…" I said, tapping on the screen to load it. Instantly we were given the answer as to why it was happening.

_Amelia Jones – superwhore! Sleeps with teacher, preachers and more!_

"Carol!" I called, getting the attention of the woman at the end of the aisle. "Will you be okay alone? I need to get Amie home…"

"Hun, we have 30 minutes until closing time," she replied. "Just go now."

Nodding, I quickly got my jacket from behind the inventory storeroom door and went round to the other side of the counter. Amelia had stuffed everything back into her bag, crying when I got to her. I pulled her close and held her for a moment before turning and walking her out of the shop and back to her house.

That was the start of what was going to be a very long hard period of time…

_**Notes**_

**Hey! Sorry this didn't get out yesterday. I was busy with work and didn't get a chance to write much until today.**

**Anyways, I hope you are enjoying this series so far and will look out for the next chapter tomorrow. Review and stuff! Much love!**


	4. Snowflake

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Snowflake**_

Nobody knew just who had created that fake account but all of us had a pretty good idea which two people in the class had motives to do so.

When we had gone back into class on Tuesday, Elizabeta and Gilbert were sat on the other side of the room muttering to each other. They glanced round when Amelia and I entered the room, satisfied smirks forming on their faces as they saw how broken Amelia was starting to look.

I put my arm around the younger girl, steering her to a seat before she could even look over at the sadistic pair across the room. As soon as I had gotten her home the day we'd first seen the messages, I logged onto her computer and looked at the messages that were still being posted onto her profile.

_Keep your balls covered guys!_

_Superwhore? Try super-score! Easy pickin's there guys!_

_Get your top off, Slut!_

_GO KILL YOURSELF AND GO TO SATAN, WHORE!_

"How can people do stuff like that?" she asked me, looking over my shoulder at the messages as she sat on her bed.

"Because there are people out there that get pleasure from making other people miserable," I replied, watching as more and more comment popped up on the profile. Thankfully, some people were defending her, including all the people who were joining in with my birthday stuff on Thursday.

_Why don't you guys just get a life? – Sofia Chenenko_

_Ever stop to think how this is making her feel? – Lovina Vargas_

_This is all so mean :( - Feliciana Vargas_

_You people really don't understand law, do you? Telling her to go die is illegal – Ludwig Beilschmidt_

_People seriously just need to chill out; don't know the whole story, don't comment. Simple – Antonio Fernandez Carriedo_

_What can you guys possibly ever gain from making my sister feel so pathetic about herself? Would you like it if we all turned on you and said these horrible things to you? No. Would you be able to cope after what's happened? No. No, you wouldn't. So how about you all just back off and leave my little sister alone? – Matthew Williams_

Shaking my head, I shut down the laptop and turned to look at Amelia. She looked confused more than anything, so I sat beside her and tried to think of something comforting to say. I never really had been that good at communicating with people; to be perfectly honest, I was surprised I had been so nice to Amelia in the first place. Normally, I would be grumpy and somewhat ignorant of what other people were saying to me.

I never usually cared for anyone else's opinions, normally putting myself into isolation because of what had happened with my old friends.

But something about Amelia had stopped that.

"You shouldn't pay too much attention to what these people are saying," I said, glancing at her. "Trust me, words can hurt but that's all they are."

"Arthur, you know better than most people that words have meanings," she replied, crossing her legs. "That's why we use words, to put across a meaning. And what they are saying rings out very clearly to me…"

Putting my hand on her arm, I nodded a little to show that I understood what she was saying. I knew what she was going through; bullying wasn't uncommon, and though mine wasn't as bad as Amelia's, I still had comments coming to me from different people calling me all the names under the sun.

"Amelia, I think you should deactivate your account for a little while," I suggested. "If they have no source, then they have to die down. I can get print screens of your page to show what they're doing but-"

"No, Arthur," she said, shaking her head. "I don't just use that site for talking to 'friends'. I have other uses for it, like…"

"Like?"

"Posting videos of me singing… Talking to my grandpa…"

"I don't think your grandfather would want to go onto your profile and see all those comments about you though… Besides, doesn't he live right across the street from you?"

"There's an email section," Amelia said. "I have an email account but rarely use it and it's easier to just send my grandpa emails that way, and yes… But that doesn't mean I can go round there as often as I want to. You know how hectic our assignments get…"

"True…"

"And I need that site to keep in touch with you guys for our days out, assignments, chances for days off," Amelia said. "It's a tool."

Sighing, I knew there that I wasn't going to convince her to take her profile down. "Fine, idiot," I muttered, nudging her. She chuckled and hugged me.

"I'm glad you chose to be my friend, Arthur," she smiled, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Me too."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

After we'd sat down in that lesson on Tuesday, all of us had decided there that we were going to ignore any comments that were thrown our way. Showing that we were bothered by it only gave them more ammunition, but believe me, it was very hard for me to just sit there.

I wanted to shout at them, punch Gilbert right in his smug face, but that would have only made everything that much worse…

Tuesday's class was a simple one; Radio, followed by an hour of tutoring.

We'd split into groups at the beginning of the year to put together two completely different radio demos. In my group was myself, Amelia, Lovina and Antonio, and we had yet to pick out the styling of our second demo.

We had to choose from a selection of formats but only one had stuck with us straight away; Gold. That was a station designed for the older generation. It seemed like a simple choice as all we had to do was pick a few songs from bands like The Beatles and The Kinks, create a decent logo then talk about things that that generation would be familiar with.

Sorted.

But our second demo…

"What are we going to do?" Antonio asked, rubbing his forehead. "This is too difficult!"

"Shut up, Idiota," Lovina said, rolling her eyes but patting his shoulder. "So… We've got everything planned for the Gold station… so that can start production soon, but-"

"We have nothing for the second demo," I said, nodding my head. "This is going to turn out swimmingly…"

"We could do an Indie station," Amelia shrugged. "Interviews with independent artists, promoting their gigs, playing original music from original people…"

Lovina looked at me at the same time as I did her, Antonio catching up after a moment and joining in with the big grins on our faces.

"That's perfect," Antonio grinned.

"Really?" asked Amelia; clearly surprised that we thought that her idea was any good.

"Absolutely," I said.

"But what indie singers do we know?"

"You."

They all blinked as I said that, Amelia turning two shades redder and shaking her head.

"No," she said. "I'm not doing it!"

"You said you posted videos of yourself singing!" I countered. "This'll just be your voice!"

"You sing?" Antonio asked, looking at the girl. Lovina was looking at her too, and the expression on her face was one of someone contemplating whether something was the truth or not.

"Amelia, sing for us right here or I will search the Internet and show them one of your videos!" I said, looking at her completely seriously. She shoved me, making my chair spin a little but sighed and nodded.

"Fine…" she said, glancing around the classroom to make sure everyone else was focused on their work. "_Remember love. Remember you and me. Remember everything we shared on this planet when we cared. Remember hearts. Remember unity. Remember loving neighbours without expecting favours. Why be afraid to make an honest mistake? If you acknowledge the pain and you wanna change, you can get through anything. Do you remember at all, people walking hand-in-hand? Can we feel that love again? Can you imagine it all? If we all could get along, then we all could sing this song together…_"

"Wow," we all said at the same time, glancing at each other before looking at the blushing girl before us.

"Where did that voice come from?" Lovina asked.

"You guys really think I sound good?" Amelia asked, clearly surprised by our awed expressions.

"Good? That was beautiful!" Antonio said, Lovina nodding her agreement.

"Told you you were special," I said, chuckling as she blushed more.

"So it's agreed, Indie it is!" Antonio laughed.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

The only lesson that we had on a Thursday afternoon was Journalism for 3 hours. We were all planning on going to the cinema then bowling after that so we had dressed accordingly and made sure to have everything we needed.

I was running late that day, having been bombarded with gifts and messages from my family. I'd been getting calls from siblings out of the area, receiving my annual birthday curse (a joke that had been running through our family since I was little).

I managed to get to the classroom dead on the time I was needed to be there, looking around as the group looked at me. Our teacher, Marge, looked at me too as I entered; she seemed on the brink of yelling at me, but realised at the last second that I was actually dead on time and that I wasn't the last in the room.

"Happy birthday," Lovina said, handing over cards from herself, Feliciana and Ludwig. "They'd give them to you later, but thought it was stupid so just dumped them on me. Idiotas…"

I chuckled and opened them, smiling at the designs before putting them in my bag. "Thanks," I said, doing the same with the card that Antonio handed to me. I looked round as I got tapped on the shoulder, looking up at Amelia as she took her seat. She'd not been in the room, having gone to the bathroom it'd seemed, but she had a small smile on her face as she looked at me and handed over my card.

"Ah, the illusive card from work," I joked, opening the envelope. I looked at the card and smiled more, shifting and hugging the girl. "I love it, thank you."

She hugged me back and smiled more, the other's looking at us in slight confusion. I chuckled as I looked at their expressions, shaking my head as I put the card away.

"I work in the news agents in the shopping district," I explained. "Donut here didn't realise and went in there to buy my birthday card. While I was behind the counter."

Lovina laughed at that, nudging Amelia slightly as she blushed a little.

"I didn't know!" she tried to explain.

"We get it," Antonio chuckled.

The rest of the lesson continued as it normally did; with very little incidents, most likely because Gilbert wasn't in. Neither was Elizabeta but she'd learnt from the last time not to create trouble in the classroom. Especially as Marge was one of the only teachers that really stood by "cause shit in my class and there will be hell".

Once the lesson was over, we all gathered our belongings and headed out of the building down towards the bus stop. We chatted and laughed, someone of them making jokes about me being an old man now to which I responded with glares and shoves. They knew I didn't mean anything by it though; it was just in my nature to be defensive when it came to teasing.

The bus arrived just as we were getting there, causing us to shout out to the driver, wave and make sure that he stopped for us. Luckily, he'd caught the message in time and stopped for us; the group showing our passes to him before taking seats and settling in for the 30 minutes that we would be enduring to get to the pavilion.

Trust me, spending 15 minutes on the bus just to get into college isn't that fun; sweaty teenagers, screaming babies, old people that smelt like vegetables, chavs and tarts… It was like sitting in a tin can mixed with characters from _The Only Way Is Essex_, _Super Nanny_ and _Emmerdale_.

I'm not sure if any other country does this, but in England there had started to become a tradition amongst the younger generation in which you would punch a person if it were their birthday. 'Birthday Bumps'…

Yes, I believe my arm had received many punches during the trip; so much so I was convinced that I was going to get a bruise.

The cinema and the bowling centre were in close proximity of each other within the pavilion so we were quite lucky in that sense that we really didn't have that much travelling to do once we had arrived there.

Having picked a movie in advance and booked the tickets, it was very simple to get our payment sorted and our tickets given to us. We'd gone to see Paranormal Activity 3; a film that I wasn't really that keen on having seen the first 2 and got slightly bored. The others wanted to see it though, and Amelia was swearing to any deity that it was the scariest film that was going to be release this year.

However, I knew that she was easily frightened by films such as this so figured that instead of watching the film properly I would spend my time comforting her.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Naturally, my prediction about Amelia had come true much to her embarrassment. I made no comment on it though as I thought it rather adorable that she had gotten so scared. Though it had annoyed me when she knocked my popcorn out of my hand as she clung to me to hide, I really did my best to make her aware that it was only just a movie.

She didn't really believe me though and swore that she would never _ever_ attempt to say Bloody Mary in front of a mirror 3 times.

I felt like doing it just to wind her up, but knowing my luck I would probably end up summoning something by accident and getting myself killed.

We walked through the pavilion together as a group, all talking about the different parts of the film that we'd liked or disliked, sharing the last of the popcorn and drinks we had before walking into the bowling joint.

Antonio, Ludwig, Matthew and I went over to the counter to pay for our games whilst the girls went to sit down at the counter and watch some of the on-going games that were happening. We could hear them giggling as some old man on a bowling team celebrated in a rather bizarre way as he got a strike, but we kept our focus on not fucking up our payments.

"Girls, we need sizes for shoes to swap," I said, looking over at them.

"4," Feliciana said.

"5," Lovina said.

"6," Amelia said.

"6," Sofia said.

We all nodded and got the shoes they needed before getting our own. Naturally, for us guys we had the slight competition with our shoe sizes as… well… "big feet big dick", as people said.

I was quite proud that mine would happen to be the second largest it seemed, although I tied with Antonio on shoe size. Ludwig, though stoic as usual, had a slight air around him that showed he was fairly proud he was the biggest. Matthew though was quiet for being just a size smaller.

Joking aside, we walked back over to the girls and led them to the aisle we had hired, changing our shoes and putting ours on one of the two rows of seats. We put our names into the machine; mine first as it was my birthday, then girl – boy after that.

It was pretty fun, to say the least.

We challenged each other to great extents, trying to get as many strikes as we could without the barriers on one game, then putting them up when we failed in the second game.

I was sat in my seat during one of Amelia's turns, watching as she looked carefully for how she could get a strike. Nodding to herself, she stepped forwards and rolled the ball fast; all of us sitting forwards in our seats and cheering as she managed to get a strike straight down through the middle of the lane.

"YEAH!" she laughed, running over to me as I stood up and jumping me.

"WHOA!" I cried as I caught her, holding her close and laughing as her infectious one caught me. I set her down after a moment and watched her go back to the girls, catching myself before I stared at her. Shaking my head, I went over to the counter where Antonio was stood having a drink before his turn; the Spaniard grinning at me coyly as I picked up my drink.

"Amigo, remind me again why you and her are not together," he said, causing me to choke on my drink.

"I have no clue what you are talking about…"

"Liar," he said. "You both clearly care for each other. Hell, we're practically out on a quadruple-date."

"It's… complicated…"

Antonio was about to question me I could tell, but we were interrupted as Amelia and Matthew walked past us. They had regular shoes on once more and their whole demeanours had changed.

"Amelia? Matthew?"

"I'm sorry, Arthur," she said. "We have to go!"

She ran away before we could do anything more than blink, Matthew right behind her causing both myself and Antonio glancing back at the others in confusion.

"She got a phone call," Sofia said. "Amelia… And it sounded pretty bad."

"Why did they both leave?" I asked.

"I don't know…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

After that incident, none of us heard from either twin for a few days. It was as if they had dropped off of the face of the Earth. I tried everything in my power to make contact with them, but not even Francis or Emily (their mother) was available for contact.

It had me extremely worried.

Unfortunately, on one day during the week following my birthday, my mother had decided that it would be best for me to go visit my grandfather's grave. He had died when I was seven and I had always gone with my family to visit his and my grandmother's grave. However, because of my hectic work load I hadn't been able to see them in a long time.

So she sent me on a bus to go to the graveyard.

Winter was definitely settling in, snowflakes starting to fall as I'd travelled to the old site. There was something eerie about the whole situation, something that really didn't settle right in my stomach. My gloved hands rubbed together subconsciously as I watched the snow fall, reaching up and pressing the button as the bus got closer to the stop beside the graveyard.

I got off of the vehicle and headed in through the wrought iron gates, looking around at the tombstones and statues that littered the grounds. Some were so old the moss had turned a different colour from the growing pollution in the air over the years, the stones becoming decrepit and dilapidated.

I felt completely alone as I wandered through the old stones, not even a spirit seemed to be awake at this time on a Monday morning. But then as I looked through the snow, I saw something that made me catch my breath in throat.

Someone was stood with their back to me by a tombstone.

It was a fresh tombstone too, so I headed in that direction despite my grandparents being in a grave in the opposite side of the site.

As I got closer, I recognised the person.

"Amelia?" I asked, keeping a distance away. She jumped and looked up, her expression one of complete surprise as she looked at me.

"Arthur?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"My Mum's forced me to visit my grandparents' grave," I replied, walking over to her. "You?"

"M-my granddad died last week…" she said, tearing up. I wrapped my arms around her as I glanced at the grave, sighing softly. "I miss him so much…"

"I know…" I said, kissing the top of her head. "I know…"

"He listened to me so much… He's the only one that knows all about what happened…" she said, looking up at me. I could see so many emotions on her face so I led her to a nearby bench and made her sit down, keeping my arm around her. "The teacher at the college… He… He tried to rape me in a classroom… He kept me behind after class and forced me… He nearly went all the way but… someone knocked on the door… He stopped and forced me to hide… Then he said if I tried to tell anyone he'd say I forced myself on him… I tried… He lied… And here I am…"

"Did he… touch you?" I asked.

She nodded, covering her mouth. "I feel sick thinking about it…" she said. "He… he touched me and felt me and…"

"It's okay, you don't have to explain…" I said.

"No one believes me though…"

"I do," I said.

Sniffing, Amelia lent her head on me as more snow began to fall. "Arthur… Why do you try so hard? Why do you keep such focus on making sure I'm okay…?"

"I know what it's like to be picked on," I said. "I know what it's like to have pressure… I have a large family… I have five siblings. Scott is 20 and at uni in Scotland training to be a mechanic. Bryn is 19 and at uni in Wales training to be a vet. Ryan is the eldest of my twin siblings and is 18; he's in the same college as us studying English, ICT and Sports. Aednat is the other twin and is studying Psychology and some other studies on human nature. Then there's my younger brother, Peter. He's 12 and in school still. So, I have a lot of competition and a lot of siblings who pick on me. Then of course there's just the fact I am how I am which attracted bad attention in the past… I got pushed down the stairs in my school once for getting the highest grade possible on a test. I was beat up a lot… and in the end I was punished. This one boy, Ivan, beat me senseless. I hit him by accident as I tried to cover my face. I got put in detention and missed classes because of it. He wasn't punished. I was."

"That's not fair…" she said.

"None of this is fair," I said. "What happened to me, what's happening to you… None of it."

_**Notes:**_

**Ah, a lengthy chapter once more :)**

**I hope that this is still entertaining people. I love all of you who are reading and reviewing, it means a lot.**

**I shall try my hardest to update again tomorrow. If not it'll be the next day :) **


	5. Haze

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Haze**_

After our confessions in the graveyard, Amelia and I had tried to get back to normal. It wasn't the easiest task to do now… She now knew that I'd been beat up at school and I knew… Well, I never really liked to think about what she had been put through…

It made me feel sick so I couldn't even imagine how it must have been for Amelia…

December came in what felt like a snow-filled haze. November didn't seemed to have happened properly, too much had gone on in such a small space of time it really didn't feel natural.

We were fairly lucky in a sense with that that it had happened so quickly; almost like pulling the plaster off of a cut, we'd done it quickly and passed the initial pain swiftly instead prolonging it any further.

Unfortunately, the online comments towards Amelia continued. Every time I looked at her page there would be a new accusation, a new insult, and a new proposition. Yet never did Amelia comment back.

I was surprised by the complete restraint she had with this situation; if it were me in that position, I would have written something back, insulted them, and challenged them back. I would have told them where they could stick it, to go to hell.

But Amelia was just going along as if it wasn't happening. She would look round at people as they sniggered at her whilst she walked through the corridors with me, but she never said a word to them. I didn't know if she had actually seen the comments put on her page anymore, whether she still used the site now that her grandfather had passed away.

So I said nothing.

Why bring it up if she didn't know only to make her upset or to point it out to her how horrible these people were being and push her over the edge?

That would only make things twice as bad and I didn't really want to think about what Amelia could be capable of if it ever got too bad for her…

There had started to be less comments out loud from Gilbert and Elizabeta it seemed too. They would snigger at her, mutter things, spread things in the classroom to their other friends; some of which just rolled their eyes at them or laughed along.

It was truly pathetic that people the same age as my eldest brother were still in college acting like they were in primary school again and picking on someone 3 years younger than them.

Projects were starting to come in thick and fast in almost all of my lessons; Google logos in Graphics, practice photography in Photography, a marketing campaign in Critical Analysis, a report on travel to and from college for Journalism, a double page spread about a job in any sector for Industries, and a report on 7 different regulatory boards (like OFSTED and the PCC) for Pre-Production.

So you could imagine that I was becoming increasingly stressed with the work load. As thankful as I was for the long break times, the Monday's off, and lesson times that we were given to produce these items; it was hard to focus on one when your mind was constantly switching to one of the other pieces.

That added to the stress of having to start producing our radio demos really started to make my blood pressure rise.

I had taken to spending most of my time after college doing all of the work that I needed to be getting sorted. I had planned it all out, making sure that I had bits to do in the lesson as well as parts to get finished out of college. Unfortunately, I had to also incorporate times for myself to meet with Antonio, Lovina and Amelia in order to get radio stuff sorted.

Believe me, if there hadn't started to become a haze growing over this part of the year I think I would have literally lost my mind because of all of this.

Tuesdays had now been decided as the time we would work on any production work for our radio stations. We had radio on Tuesdays so it seemed the most logical option to work on the demos whilst they were still fresh in our minds. Amelia had refused to do anymore singing in college in fear that someone would take the micky out of her once more, so we had agreed to go to her house after college to record one of the songs from her that we needed.

I think we were all looking forward to it, although Antonio and Lovina had to go somewhere beforehand for some reason or another. Amie and I weren't really that fussed, just as long as they made it to her house in time to get some proper production work sorted.

So, to make things easier for us that day, we spent that two hour lesson planning through every little detail that we had to get sorted for that part of the production. We were going to have that piece as part of the Live Lounge section for the indie station. It was going to be a big hit, like the BBC radio station that had a live lounge section, we'd make it seem as though Amelia was an upcoming artist performing her new single live for us, and we'd conduct an interview, talk about inspirations and all that jazz.

To say I was excited to hear Amelia sing again would probably be an understatement. I think I lost count of how many times she nudged me or hit my arm as I smiled at any mention of her talent; I definitely got on her nerves with it, but I was just happy that someone like her had such an amazing gift.

I could be cliché and say that she sounded like an angel when she sang, but that would be far too cheesy. I never really knew how to describe Amelia's voice, it just rang out like auto-tune couldn't touch her. You could listen to it live without thinking 'well, that was pitchy'. I mean, you got idiots out there that put them through the humiliation of singing in front of judges on shows like The X Factor and making complete and utter fools of themselves, but Amelia…

Well, one: she would never audition for a show like that. I often made the suggestion to her, but she just shrugged it off. Two: she just seemed for too shy to do it.

She wasn't a shy person, per say. No, she could be quite loud and boisterous if she forgot herself. Running and jumping people, hugging people so tightly you could see them forget to breath. And her smile. My God, her smile could light up a room.

But because of everything that had happened to her, all the things with that teacher, that God awful man who was still getting away with what he did to her, and the constant messages from people online, she had broken.

Francis had told me once that she used to be the happiest person you could have ever met. Even Matthew backed that point. She just seemed to radiate happiness, but now she was just a ghost of the person she used to be. That man had effectively killed whoever Amelia used to be and there seemed to be no way to get her back.

I didn't know who Amelia used to be. I wished I had, but I didn't. All I knew that this new Amelia wasn't someone that anyone wanted to be around. She was isolating herself, making a bubble around herself and trying to keep people out. I think I'd managed to make my way into that little world of hers, and I hoped beyond any hope that I was starting to bring her back to the real world.

I'd confessed this to my older brother, Ryan. He had gotten back home from college on my day off and found me sat in the room at the back of our house. We had a piano in the back room, something I used to play all the time but seemed to only do so when I wanted to relieve some stress these days.

I was playing a soft tune when he had walked into the room, nothing that could be registered as a real song or anything that I could name myself. I was just playing random notes, but kept pausing. It was like my thoughts were starting to block my creativity.

And Ryan could tell.

"Arthur?"

Closing my eyes for a moment, I turned round on the bench and looked up at him. "Yes?"

"What's going on?" he asked, moving over and sitting beside me. I was suspicious of him already; he never made any motions like that towards me.

"Why do you care?"

"I may pick on you, but that's what brother's do," he said, looking at me seriously. "Are you getting picked on again? If it's that Ivan kid I'll kick his arse!"

I laughed a little at that, shaking my head. "Ivan is taller than both of us and not exactly fat as some people used to call him," I said. "No. No, he's not doing anything anymore. I don't see him. And I'm not getting picked on… My friend is."

"You have a friend?"

"Piss off…"

He chuckled and clapped my shoulder. "Just explain to me."

"Amelia Jones," I said.

"The slut?"

I rounded on him and clenched my fists, showing him that I really would hit him in a moment. "She isn't a slut," I said. "She's getting called every name under the sun."

"I heard that she fucked a teacher."

"She was abused by a teacher," I muttered. Ryan blinked, shocked. "He tried to rape her and has kept her quiet by ruining her life… Now everyone, bar a few people, is picking on her… She's so broken, Ryan… All these people are hurting her and there's nothing I can do…"

"I'm sure you can think of something," he said. I shook my head so he put his hand on my shoulder. "Arthur, you're brighter with things like this than you give yourself credit for…"

I glanced at him and smiled a little, nodding. "I'll keep trying."

"I think you like her more than you're letting on," Ryan said, grinning as he got up and ran off before I could punch him. "Hey, Aednat! Arthur's in love!"

I sighed and blushed a little as I heard my older sister go "awwwwwwwwwwwwwww", shaking my head. I couldn't help the small smile that formed on my face though.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Travelling back to Amelia's house after college on the second Tuesday of December was an awkward experience as Amelia was so visibly nervous about recording this song. I tried my best to keep her calm but nothing seemed to work. She kept fidgeting and playing with her top and her bag and any other thing that she could get her hands on.

"Amelia," I said. "Stop it. It'll be okay…"

"I know, but I'm so nervous!" she said. At this point she had started to pick at her thumbs and I noticed that they looked as though they had been picked down to raw skin before that. She kept wincing as her nails started to dig into that new skin, so I put my hand on hers and pulled them apart. She looked up at me and then down at her lap ashamedly so I tilted her head up a little and smiled at her reassuringly.

"It's okay," I said. "Just stop picking your thumbs."

Nodding, Amelia smiled at me a little and held my hand for more reassurance. I hoped that I was able to give her that by keeping hold of her hand, but I had to let it go after a few more minutes as we got closer to her house and had to press the button to get the bus to stop.

We got off of the bus at the stop across the street outside of her house, then crossed the road quickly and got inside. No one was home, thankfully for Amelia; Francis and Emily both worked (Francis starting when we finished college on Tuesdays and Emily starting earlier in the day). They wouldn't be back until a similar time later in the afternoon, and we had been reassured by Matthew that he would be spending some time with Sofia while we worked.

It would be a further 20 minutes before Antonio and Lovina would make it to us but neither myself or Amelia were complaining. It gave her a chance to get in some last minute practice on the song she wanted to perform and me more chances to listen to her without feeling as though I was being watched.

"Arthur, do you really think that I have a good voice?" she asked, looking up at me from the guitar she had laid across her lap. I was surprised she was still questioning me on that but I let it slide.

"Yes," I smiled. "You have a beautiful voice."

She blushed a little and shifted next to me, looking up at me openly. "You really think so?"

"Of course I do," I replied. I didn't know why but I lent down and kissed her softly on the cheek, smiling at her as the blush increased across her features. "Don't doubt yourself so much."

"What else do you think of me?" she asked, pulling at a couple of strings.

"I think you're special," I said. "You're funny, smart, kind and beautiful. I can't understand how anyone can think any differently. But I see it. You're too good to be true."

I looked into her eyes after a moment to see she was looking up into mine with tears dotting the blue of her iris' making them seem like they were sparkling.

Something changed in that moment. We both leaned towards each other, eyes slipping closed slowly as we blurred in each other's vision. I could feel her breath on my lips but just as we were about to make contact the doorbell rang.

Sighing softly as she got up and ran to the door, I rubbed my face and groaned silently. We had nearly kissed. Kissed! I had nearly kissed Amelia!

I was torn between cursing whoever had cock-blocked or thanking them for potentially saving a friendship.

It turned out to be Antonio and Lovina at the door. Amelia and I kept quiet about our little moment, helping them set up the microphone with Amelia's laptop in order to get the recording sorted.

I was in charge of the recording part; I had to make sure that it started at the right time and finished at the right time.

"I want to sing a different song," Amelia suddenly announced. We all blinked as we looked at her, but shrugged.

"You can play it here and now without mistakes?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah."

"Then do it," Lovina smiled.

Amelia nodded and took a deep breath, looking to me. I pressed the record button then nodded to her to signal her to start playing.

And I was surprised by the song.

"_Tell me what to do, oh, about you…_" she sang. "_I already know that I can see in your eyes when you're telling the truth. Cos it's been a long time coming, so where're you running to? Tell me what to do, oh, about you… You've got your way of speaking, even the air you're breathing, you could be anything but you don't know what to believe in. You've got the world before you, if I could only show you. But you don't know what to do…_

"_Tell me what to do, oh, about you... Something on your mind, Baby, all of the time; you could bring down a room… Oh, yeah… This day has been a long time coming; I say it's nothing new. So tell me what to do, oh, about you... You've got your way of speaking, even the air you're breathing, you could be anything but you don't know what to believe in. You've got the world before you, if I could only show you. But you don't know what to do…_

"_You think about it; can you ever change? Finish what you started, make me wanna stay… Tired of conversation, show me something real… Find out what your part is, play it how you feel…_

"_Tell me what to do, oh, about you… Is there anyway, anything I can say, that won't break us in two? Cos it's been a long time coming, I can't stop loving you… So tell me what to do, oh, about you… You've got your way of speaking, even the air you're breathing, you could be anything but you don't know what to believe in. You've got the world before you, if I could only show you! But you don't know what to do, Oooooooh! You could be anything but you don't know what to believe in! World before you! Show you! You do know what to do…_"

I waited five seconds after she'd finished playing before stopping the recording, looking at her carefully as she put the guitar down.

"Were we even needed here?" Antonio asked, smiling widely. "One take on an unrehearsed song which was fucking amazing, by the way!"

"Thanks," Amelia said, smiling a little.

"That was all we had planned right?" Lovina asked.

"That was it," I replied.

"If it's all the same with you, we'll be going now then," she smiled. "This was brilliant though."

Antonio nodded his agreement as he got to his feet and helped Lovina up too. "We'll see you two in class tomorrow."

And so they left, leaving me and Amelia alone to sit awkwardly and fester in the messages we were sending each other. She looked at me, smiling a little. I smiled back a bit and went to move over to her once more only to be interrupted by my phone going off.

"For fuck's sake," I muttered, picking it up and looking at the caller ID. Peter. "What?"

"Arthur! Where's my ice cream? I got some of that Ben and Jerry's stuff and now I can't find it!"

"Have you tried to freezer?"

"Fuck you, Jerk."

I rolled my eyes but smiled at Amelia. "I'll be back in a bit so I'll get you some more on my if you ask nicely."

"PLEASE!"

Laughing, I hung up and put my phone away. I looked at Amelia and smiled at her. "I have to go home now," I said. "My younger brother is a pig."

"Okay," she said, looking down a little. I bit my bottom lip lightly for a moment, before kneeling before her and tilting her head up. She looked confused for a moment until I lightly pressed my lips to hers. I knew she was still being affected by the trauma from the old college, but I hoped that in some way this small gesture would show her I was there for her, that whenever she was ready, I'd be there.

She looked up at me as I pulled back; smiling a little in what was almost a reflection of my own expression.

"I'll see you later," I said before getting to my feet and walking to the door. "Don't forget to save that as a WAV!"

"Okay," I heard her say, glancing back and smiling at her one more time before walking out of the front door.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

After that moment, Amelia and I had pretty much stayed the same. We were a little more open with each other in front of people; hugging and small kisses and little gestures like that. I had to say that I was a lot happier than I had been in a while and Amelia seemed to be so the same.

But Thursday came and Amelia never showed up for class. And Friday…

It was as if she'd disappeared from the face of the Earth…

Matthew was in both days so I was certain that it wasn't a family emergency or anything of that sort, but Matthew would only say that she was sick.

"She was real pale when I went into her room earlier," he said to me when I cornered him during break on Friday. "She'd been sick a couple of times and looked real… bad…"

"I hope it's nothing serious," I said.

"It shouldn't be," Matthew said. "She doesn't get sick often but when she does it hits her hard."

"Right… Well, thanks Matthew," I said.

It was fairly boring sitting in the lessons without Amelia, and it seemed to show on my face. Elizabeta looked down at me as she went over to the printer I was sat near during Pre-Prod, a light condescending smile on her features as she got her work.

"Amelia not in?" she asked.

"Obviously not," I responded.

"Probably off spreading STDs," she said before walking away from me. I glared at her, wanting so badly to respond but knowing that it would probably only make things worse. So, I bit my tongue and continued with the rest of the lesson as if nothing was worrying me, nothing was wrong, and Elizabeta had made no comment.

I walked out as soon as Rodney, our teacher, had let us go. I managed to catch the bus that would take me all the way to my house with little hassle, enjoying this ride much better than the one into college as it was quieter and only had a few elderly people on the bus. I got off just round the corner from my house, walking the final five minutes and getting inside as it was getting darker.

I said hello to everyone who was actually in the house, eating the dinner my mother had prepared for me before going upstairs to my room. I shut my door and put on some background music before I turned on my laptop and waited for it to load. It didn't take too long thankfully, so I logged in and started to load up my work.

As I went through what I needed to, I realised that I was missing one piece so loaded the Internet and went onto NoteSpring to message Antonio and see if he had the missing piece.

However, as I looked at my news feed I found something that made my stomach churn.

There was a video of Amelia sat on her bed in her room; she looked distraught. Nervously, I clicked on the video and watched it load, waiting to see what it was about.

"My name is Amelia Jones and I'm the girl that everyone on this site has been talking about for months," she said, wiping her eyes. "I don't really understand how people can hate me as much as they do but I guess in retrospect I do. Because I hate me too. All the comments I've been getting… the names, the threats… I'd explain how I feel but… I've lost the will to fight… You all do things like this because you feel you have a right to make someone feel bad about themselves… Believe me, I felt bad enough without you all turning on me too…

"The truth is; I was nearly raped by that teacher. I didn't force myself on him or blackmail him. It was the other way around. He made me do things that make me feel sick… But I know that hardly anyone will believe me…

"I'm sorry… to my brother… and my greatest friend… But… I'm done… So… Goodbye…"

_**Notes:**_

**I don't really have a lot to say about this chapter.**

**I'm trying to keep this as realistic as possible and I hope that I'm doing a good job with it.**

**The song that Amelia sang was "Tell Me What To Do" by Demi Lovato. The song she'd sung in the other chapter was "Together" by Demi Lovato and Jason Derulo. I recommend listening. I guess Demi's songs are being a big inspiration for this story.**

**Anyway, look out for the next chapter soon.**


	6. Flame

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Flame**_

I felt sick.

As I stared at that screen, watching her break completely, cry and talk… I felt everything pool into my stomach. I had never realised that she had really felt that bad, but there she was; she had confessed everything to the world and

And she'd said goodbye…

Wait…

I got up from my seat quickly and ran over to my backpack, rummaging inside quickly in search of my phone.

I pray that none of you ever feel the fear that was shooting through me in those moments. I could barely breathe; my throat constricting as I tried to find the air to make me feel less ill. My hands shook as I managed to pull my phone out of my bag and I couldn't help the tears that were starting to form in my eyes.

I'm not ashamed that I had cried that day.

I dialled her number quickly despite how badly my hands were shaking but everything seemed to have slowed down. My movements felt like I had been thrown into reverse or slow motion, the beeping of the digits being inputted reaching my ears too slowly for my liking. I held the phone to my ear as I went back to my laptop, scrolling down and looking at the comments that were being put onto the video.

The dial tone only made them ring out louder to me.

_What a drama queen…_

_If she kills herself, I won't cry._

_What a load of bull shit._

"Come on, Amie, pick up," I begged my phone. Shaking my head, I continued to try her number as I ran downstairs; my footsteps banging through the house so loudly that I attracted the attention of my siblings.

"Arthur?" Aednat asked, looking out at me from the kitchen.

"What's happening?" asked Peter.

"It's Amelia…" I said, continuing to call her phone and finding no response. "I think she's going to kill herself…"

"WHAT?"

I couldn't waste time trying to explain it to them so I simply ran out of the house.

"Arthur!" I glanced behind me for a moment and saw Ryan running over to me, his car keys in hand. "It'll take too long to run or get the bus, idiot… I'll drive you."

Nodding, I ran over to his car and got in with him; Amelia was still not answering her phone so I tried Matthew. I waited for a few minutes, sighing in relief as he actually picked up his phone.

"Arthur? What's up?" he asked me.

"You're not at your house are you? Or your parents…" I said quietly, panic truly settling into the pit of my stomach.

"No… Why? What's up?"

"I think Amelia's going to try and kill herself!" I said, rubbing my face.

"Oh shit…" Matthew said; I could hear him scrambling to his feet and getting a jacket. "I'll call my parents and get there as soon as I can."

"My brother's driving me there now so I'll make sure she's okay… Just… Just call an ambulance too just in case," I said, looking up as we pulled up outside their house. Ryan and I scrambled out of the car as I talked, him heading straight to the door as I hung up after Matthew's agreement and putting my phone away. We both knocked on the door quickly, banging as loudly as we could. "AMELIA?"

"AMELIA?" Ryan shouted.

I looked at him for a moment before we nodded and both started to try and break the door down when we heard no response. It took a minute or so but we managed to get the door open with a bang. Ryan went to look around for her downstairs, but I had an idea where I would find her.

Running upstairs, I looked in her bedroom first and found her laptop open on the table. The screen had NoteSpring up, comments popping up on her page still despite the video. I looked at a couple, feeling anger pool inside me at the vile things that were being said.

They were telling her to kill herself.

I looked round as I heard a noise, making my way to the bathroom and opening the door carefully.

Everything else was forgotten as I saw Amelia.

She was stood in the middle of the room cutting into her arms with a pair of broken scissors. Both arms had lots of deep, red cuts; blood pouring from them onto her clothes and onto the floor. She didn't even look up at me as I hurried over to her, simply continuing to cut into her arms until I forced the scissors out of her hands.

"NO!" she screamed, trying to get them back. "NO, ARTHUR! I WANNA DIE!"

"Amelia…" I said, trying to block her screams as I got towels and wrapped them around her wrists. She broke down against me, sobbing violently and screaming the same 3 words. I kept a firm grip on her wrists, so as not to hurt her but so that the blood would slow. She seemed to lose all will as she sobbed, so I shifted to a position so that I could hug her and hold her wrists. I looked up at Ryan as he looked in on us, listening to the sounds of panic coming into the house as Matthew, Francis, Emily and the paramedics showed up.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

I had to stay in the waiting room.

Amelia had been taken to surgery to sort out her arms, but her blood was still staining my clothes. My hands were shaking as I sat with Ryan in the waiting room, watching as Emily cried, Matthew held her and Francis paced around the room.

I could understand what they were going through; their daughter had just tried to kill herself. That would break anyone to know that one of the people that they loved so unconditionally was that unhappy that she wanted everything to end.

Matthew was holding onto Emily's hand so tightly that I could see his own turning white around the knuckles. He was holding back tears for his mother's sake as she sobbed into his shoulder. Francis walked over to me in that moment, taking my attention.

"Why did she do this?" he asked me.

"The bullying got worse…" I said quietly. "The comments online… She…"

"How did you know she was going to do it?"

"She posted a video online… confessing what happened to her… and saying goodbye…"

Francis looked at me in complete shock for a moment but before he could ask me anymore questions a doctor walked over to us and explained to us about Amelia's condition. I said that I would wait with Ryan whilst they went into see her, but that left me with nothing but silence and my own thoughts.

I was going into shock. Everything that had happened was catching up to me now that the adrenaline was dying down. I put my head in my hands as I teared up, letting Ryan put his arm around me as I broke down. He had called my parents to let them know where we when we had gotten to the hospital after following the ambulance. He had promised to stay with me to give me a ride home but I really wasn't in the mood to be too social with him.

He held onto me as I sobbed into my hand, smoothing my arm and muttering that everything was going to be okay.

Oh, I tried to believe him but at that moment things really didn't seem like they could get any bleaker.

I knew that I wasn't supposed to use my phone in the hospital but not even Ryan could stop me from pulling it from my pocket and looking at the Internet. I'd loaded NoteSpring, looking at Amelia's page and finding a mixture of messages.

Mostly hate, but there were the odd couple begging her not to go through with it.

Turning my phone back off again, I stuffed it into my pocket and put my head in my hands. I groaned quietly, feeling Ryan rub my back soothingly.

"Thanks, Ryan…" I muttered.

"Anytime, Little Brother," he replied.

We'd lost count of how long we'd been sat there but after a while we both looked up as a coughing sounded. Francis was stood by the door to Amelia's room, holding it open for Emily and Matthew to walk outside. He looked at me and nodded as a motion for me to walk over, so I glanced at Ryan before doing as requested.

"She wants to talk to you," he said to me before allowing me inside the room. I gulped silently as walked inside, looking over to the bed that was facing the door. Amelia was sat up slightly, hooked up to machines that monitored her heart rate. Her arms were bandaged and she looked as though she had gone through a war.

Quietly, I walked over to her bed as she looked up at me with a sad smile. I sat on the edge of her bed and held her left hand gently in both of mine, smiling back a little.

"I'm so sorry, Arthur," she said, a tear slipping down her face before she could stop it. I freed one of my hands and carefully caught it on my fingers, shaking my head.

"Don't apologise," I said softly. "I never knew how badly this was affecting you…"

"I saw those messages every single day…" she said. "Every day and no one said a word…"

"I didn't know…"

"Oh, no, I'm not blaming you…" she said, looking up at me. "I never said anything… I figured you weren't in case I hadn't seen them…"

I nodded and held her hand up to my lips, giving it a small kiss. "I didn't do a very good job, did I?"

"You did," she said. "I didn't make it easy…"

"_They_ didn't make it easy."

Amelia nodded and lent back, closing her eyes. "Thank you, Arthur."

"What for?"

"Stopping me… Saving my life…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

When Amelia was released from the hospital, it was made clear that she was not to go into college for at least another week. It was an easy task as it was the last week of term before the Christmas holidays, meaning that we had very little work to do.

Any assignments that were due in, I handed in for her and made sure that I visited her every day after I'd left the college.

Before she had been admitted into hospital because of a self-inflicted injury, I found out on one of my visits that she was being signed to a group that met up once a week to discuss traumas like this.

Like a therapy group, I'd guessed.

However, Amelia hadn't gone to her first meeting yet.

On the Friday that term had ended, I was allowed to leave the campus at 12:00pm rather than 5:15pm so I'd got on the first bus that I could and travelled to Amelia's home. When I got off of the bus, I could tell the air around their home was a lot different than it usually was. Even for that week.

I walked up to the front door cautiously, jumping aside quickly as the door opened and Francis rushed outside with a phone pressed to his ear. He blinked as he saw me, telling the person to 'hold on for a moment' as he went over to me.

"Ah, Arthur, just the person," he said.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Emily's at work, I have to go to work and Matthew has the dentist in half an hour," explained Francis. "Amelia needs company and also has that meeting with the support group today… Would you mind-"

"I'll keep her company and take her to the meeting," I said, Francis nodding to me gratefully.

"Merci, Arthur! It's at the Leisure Centre at 1 o'clock!"

And with that he hurried off to his car and left me to wander inside. I looked around for a moment, listening as I heard a hurried scrambling upstairs. Curious, I went upstairs and stood on the landing, only to be almost knocked over as something ran past me insanely quickly.

"WHOA!" I shouted, pressing myself to the wall and looking downstairs as I heard a slight yelp.

"Sorry, Arthur!" called Matthew, the Canadian boy looking up at me apprehensively in case I was mad at him.

"No, no, it's fine…" I muttered, rubbing my head. "Don't you have dentist?"

"SHIT!"

Chuckling as he ran out of the house without questioning why I was here, I made my way to Amelia's room and found her sat in bed with her laptop on her lap. My heart sank for a moment but then she looked up at me and smiled a little.

"My fruits almost harvestable," she said.

"What?" I asked, perplexedly walking over to her and sitting beside her on her bed. I looked at her screen and saw that she was playing The Sims 2 and had been playing with a family with an allotment in their back-garden. "Oh."

"Yeah, these are the Clarkland's," Amelia explained with a small smile. "Andrew, Marlene, Dustin and Wendy. They own a little toy shop on the outskirts of the village and a café near their home. Dustin is popular, Wendy… Wendy gets on as she does…"

"Like someone else I know then," I said, putting my arm around her shoulders. She glanced up at me and smiled a little before looking back at her screen.

"I'm nervous about this meeting, Arthur…"

"It'll be okay," I said. "Now come on. Save that game and get up, we need to head for the Leisure Centre."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

We were late.

Only by 5 minutes, but we were still late to that meeting.

I remember Amelia clutching to my hand as we walked through the corridors towards the room the meeting was being held in, both of us knowing that everyone would likely be in their already and talking but I tried to reassure her that everyone would accept her.

They were there because they'd been judged so badly so they really shouldn't do the same to her because she was late.

Looking into the room, we found the group had already started their discussion.

"Go on," I said, motioning to the room but she refused to let my hand go.

"Come with me, please…" she said, looking up at me pleadingly. Before I could respond, the door opened and a man in a blue checked shirt with long brown hair and dark coloured eyes looked at us.

"Ah, Amelia, I was wondering when you would arrive," he smiled.

"Hi, Doctor Wang," she replied. "Is it okay if my friend, Arthur, joins in with us today…? I need the company…"

"Of course," he replied, motioning for us to go inside. I walked inside with Amelia, waiting for a moment as two more seats were added to the circle so that we could sit down together. "Everyone, this is Amelia and Arthur."

"Hi," they all greeted.

"Hey," Amelia said, rubbing her knees.

"Hello," I said, suddenly feeling a little uneasy.

"So, we were just starting our discussion on what experiences with cyber and regular bullying we've had," Doctor Wang said, looking at the group. "Would anyone like to start? Amelia?"

She looked up like a rabbit in headlights, and I could tell that she really wasn't ready to do any talking just yet.

So I raised my hand.

"Yes, Arthur?"

"I-I'd like to start…"

"Oh? Do share."

"I was beat up a lot in school. I still get digs now. There was this boy. Ivan… He was a strange boy. Silent and sadistic. He was that one kid on the playground you could be certain to find pulling the wings off a fly… Well, I got a higher score on a test than him one day so he pushed me down the stairs. I broke my arm and got a concussion from falling down two flights… And it didn't stop there. I was shoved in the hallways, had things thrown at me in the classroom when the teacher turned away and attacked in the street. On my way home one day he pushed me into the road. I was on my back laying lengthways thankfully so the car drove over me and didn't hurt me, but my God the shock nearly killed me instead…

"Then one day he decided to just beat me up in the corridor. I mean, he laid into me. My arm broke again, my nose, a few ribs. I was in hospital for a while and when I got back into school… I got detention because I accidently broke his nose trying to defend myself.

"He didn't get punished though… His father was one of the governors of the school. He made sure that nothing happened to him. I was punished though."

"Did anything happen after that?" Doctor Wang asked.

"No."

"Wow…" said one boy. "That's totally unfair!"

"Nothing about bullying is fair," Amelia said, not looking up from her shoes. "I was nearly raped by a teacher… Now everyone calls me a whore, a slut, everything they can think of… It's online, in person sometimes… Someone made a video of me; they made themselves look pregnant, wore a mask with my face. They say I have STDs, sleep around…

"I tried to kill myself and they encouraged me to do it… I nearly died and they were saying that it would be the best thing in the world. So no. Bullying isn't fair because everyone always sides with the bully just in case they get picked on too. No one cares for the victim."

A few people nodded in the group so Doctor Wang spoke. "People do care for the victims," he said. "That's why you are all here. But you make a very good point."

"Wait… They encouraged you to do it?" asked one girl, interrupting Doctor Wang.

"Yeah?"

"Isn't that illegal?"

Doctor Wang shook his head. "Unfortunately in this county it isn't," he said. "Bullying and cyber bullying are treated as two very separate matters. If we use Arthur as an example here, if Arthur had gone to the police because of all the violence, they would have done something. As someone had physically caused him harm. But cyber bullying is mental. They posted comments to Amelia. Therefore they didn't actually make her do anything. Because it was self-inflicted, the police can't do anything… Which is extremely stupid in my opinion, but that's how the law has been governed."

"Which is worse though? Mental or physical?" asked another girl.

"Unless someone experiences both, and I pray that no one ever does, we will never know," Doctor Wang said. "It would be wrong of us to sit here and debate which is worse because no one knows what goes on in the head of someone being physically threatened and likewise with someone being mentally tortured. We could say it's of equal pain but you just don't know…"

"The law needs to change," Amelia said. "Someone has to change it…"

That's when I started to form a plan.

_**Notes:**_

**Ah, sorry for keeping you all waiting.**

**I'm also sorry if this was really awful… Kind of had my confidence shaken from a review on a different story but I pushed it aside and got this sorted. I looked at the irony of it and that made me feel better.**

**Anyways, I hope you continue to stick by this story. It means a lot to me that people are taking an interest; this subject is something I've seen seldom done but something that strikes me deeply. So, thank you all :) **


	7. Formal

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**Formal**_

After I had taken Amelia home from the meeting, I had returned to my own home to find something that I really got a shock from.

It was nearly Christmas, meaning that my brother's in University were also on their holidays and would be coming home to visit over the holidays; claiming their old rooms back for a time and generally trying to bug me until I punched them.

I was greeted by the usual headlock that my eldest brother, Scott, would give me every time he saw me since the age of 5. Trust me, he had been waiting a long time to do things like that to me, but had restrained himself until I was an age that I could fight back to do anything.

Never in front of Mum though until I was 10.

"Hey, Squirt," he said, his accent laced with a Scottish one having spent so much time in that country of kilts.

"Fuck off, Scott," I responded, earning myself a noogie and a hearty laugh. Scott let me go after all but dragging me into the living room where every other member of my family was sat talking. When Bryn finally spotted me, he made his way over and shoved Scott away, clapping me on the shoulder.

"Hey, Little Brother," he greeted, his accent now mixed with a Welsh accent.

"Hello, Bryn," I replied, moving to go sit on the floor with Peter who was watching curiously at how they had greeted me. I hated being the second youngest because I was thrown into the same boat as Peter was and it was bloody annoying.

"So, why weren't you here to greet us, Squirt?" Scott asked me, smirking a little as he sat down in a seat beside Dad.

"I was at college, then I went to visit my friend, if you must know," I said, not really wanting to talk about the whole ordeal in front of everyone.

"Friend, eh?" Bryn grinned. "This wouldn't be that little girlfriend of yours Aednat and Peter were telling us about."

I blushed a little and glared at my siblings, shaking my head. "Amelia isn't… You know, I don't really know what she is," I admitted. "She's not exactly my girlfriend but…"

"But what?" asked Scott.

"We… kissed," I said, ignoring the looks from my mother and father.

"You got to first base?" Scott laughed.

"Fuck off!"

"He's pretty sensitive about Amelia," Ryan said, rubbing his arm a bit.

"Oh, and why's this?" Scott smirked.

Shaking my head and stood up and pointed at him furiously. "I'm warning you, Scott. I'm not sensitive about Amelia for any perverted reason that you might be coming up with in that thick skull of yours. She's been through Hell and back and really doesn't need any more pain; even if it's just comments from you to me."

Scott looked at me in complete surprise, Bryn shifting awkwardly in his seat as he tried to get out of my line of sight.

"Okay…" Scott said, holding his hands up in defence. "Just… what has happened?"

"Didn't you read it in the news? The girl who blackmailed a teacher after sleeping with him?"

"Yeah… OH!"

"Yes, but it's not what you think…" I said. "He tried to rape her and blackmailed her… She was kicked out for being a silent victim and now all she gets is hate mail… She tried to kill herself last week… And if Ryan hadn't have got me to her house so quickly, she wouldn't be here today…"

"So you saved her?"

"I guess so," I said. "I found her and stopped her bleeding as much as I could… I've also been print screening and saving every single comment that's been posted to her… It won't do much good because there's no law in this county that deals with cyber bullying, but I'm going to change that somehow…"

"Wow…" Bryn said quietly. "Well, we definitely missed a lot…"

"You can say that again…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

After that moment everything seemed to just go back to how it usually was in my household when all of my siblings were around. I would hide away in my bedroom and try to avoid everyone as much as I possibly could, Aednat would fight with everyone, Peter would bug everyone, Ryan would just sit and watch whilst Scott and Bryn fought with Aendat.

It was pure unadulterated chaos.

Christmas Day was very much the same as every other day that they were around, except with gifts and wrapping paper flying all over the room as we grabbed for the stuff that was ours to try and keep it away from the thieving hands of our siblings.

Despite having a combined age of 104 years, we all acted half of Peter's age when it came to Christmas; a feat that always managed to astound my parents. I didn't really understand why it surprised them so much each year, they'd had 20 years to get used to children but I guess it was the fact that Scott was close to having children of his own that made them nervous.

Yes, Scott was in a very intimate relationship with a girl at his University. Ambre, I think her name was; she was French. Scott was smitten. I think she was the only that was ever able to keep him calm when his temper flared up. I had never met her, of course, but she seemed nice from the times I'd been forced to speak to Scott on the phone and she'd picked up. We were all convinced that they were going to get married one day, but I wasn't sure if Scott was the marrying type.

Anyway, for my presents from my siblings and parents, I'd received a varying amount; some of which was fairly questionable as to whether members of my family actually knew me at all.

Mum and Dad had bought me the box sets of Sherlock; a gift that I gladly accepted with a bright smile.

Peter had bought me a selection box; he knew that he'd get any sweets I didn't want, and as this one was clearly one that held his favourites rather than mine, I knew his little scheme to get himself something rather than me was working.

Aednat had bought me a few writing pads and some very fancy looking pens; I'd hugged her for the first time in months because of that because she actually remembered that I loved to write so much.

Ryan had given me money; the thought was there that he'd given me enough money to buy the latest Professor Layton video game. It was really the only game I chose to play.

Bryn had got me a couple of books; ranging from The Da Vinci Code to Inkspell.

Scott had bought me a book about photography, winking at me a little as I looked at it. As it turned out, the bastard had snuck a porn magazine inside it so I had to make sure to keep that book away from my parents in case they found it and murdered us both.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

The rest of the holiday passed without incident.

I had gone to visit Amelia a couple of times to make sure that she was still okay, giving her a little present that I had bought her and getting a surprise when I received one from her in return.

My brothers went back to their respective universities a few days before their classes were due to start up once more, giving them enough time to consider traffic and get settled back into their flats.

My classes were due to start the day before theirs, so the day before I was due to go back into college I simply spent the day relaxing. I tried to force all of the stress out of my body; I was starting to worry about what the reception in the class would be to Amelia walking in.

It had been nearly 3 weeks since she had tried to commit suicide, and some of the class members had commented on the video she had posted telling her to go die. To say that I was nervous about that was an understatement; I was also scared of what I would do to those people if they made a comment to Amelia's face about not being dead. Any comment really. It genuinely scared me how ready I was to rip the tongues from their mouths, but I knew that I wouldn't because that would only make things worse for Amelia and that was the thing that I wanted to do.

I'd spent the rest of the holiday perfecting my plan; the plan to change people's view on things like cyber bullying. I'd thought it all through; every little detail that I was going to propose to Amelia and the others. I was sure that it would attract attention, it had to.

When I got into the classroom, the Tuesday we had our first radio lesson, I was the first one in the room beside Lara, the Radio teacher. She smiled at me and asked me how my holidays had gone but then changed slightly as she seemed to come to a different subject. It seemed that the college had been made aware that I had found Amelia when she had tried to commit suicide, that they had been warned about how unstable Amelia might still be. She asked me to continue to look out for her.

"I already am," I'd replied.

It was a few minutes before the lesson was about to begin that the others made their way into the room. I think it was the first time that we'd had full attendance in the class since November, but that was neither here nor there.

Amelia was one of the last into the room, a nervous expression on her face as she sat down beside me with Antonio and Lovina. We listened to Lara for the introduction of what were supposed to be getting on with that day, reminders of when the deadline was and any other little announcement that she or the TA, Sandy, could think of.

When we were sent off to work, I turned to my group with a grin on my face that showed them that I had a plan.

"What are you thinking about, Arthur?" Lovina asked me.

"I've come up with an idea that I'd like you all to help me with," I said.

"What's this then?" Antonio asked.

"Cyber bullying is a big issue," I said, looking at Amelia who nodded sadly. "There's no law against it though. We need to change that. Clearly just waiting for someone to… kill themselves doesn't work, so we need to get attention to the problem. Highlight just how badly this problem affects people."

"How do we do that?" Amelia asked.

"Use their weapon against them," I replied. "The Internet. Social networks; Youtube. Share our stories to the world, spread the word. Get others to share their stories too. We can change our second demo too. The Gold one. We can change that to a cross-over station; Contemporary Hit Radio and Community. We can get hit music whilst talking about something that is hitting this community at its core! Lara's a radio presenter, remember; she presents the news on two of the country's biggest radio stations. If she hears this she can spread the word too. Marge is a journalist still! She can help us too!

"If we talk to Doctor Wang and the other people in that group, we can get their help too. They were all saying the laws need to change, but the only way that we can make that happen is by actually doing something publicly."

"And what happens when we get horrible comments?" Antonio asked.

"We make another video," I said firmly. "We show their comments to the world. Their username, their words, everything. We could do fundraisers too, show them off."

"Fundraising for what?"

"Charities that help the victims, support groups that need more funding, anything that promotes the protections of victims of any type of bullying."

"I'm in," Lovina said. "I'll share my story."

"You have a story?" Antonio asked.

I nodded. "Lovina and I were in school together; she had it nearly as rough as I did."

"I'm in too, then," Antonio responded. We all looked to Amelia, smiling as she nodded.

"I'm in."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

We started production on everything straight away; though talking to Doctor Wang and the support group would have to wait until our break on Friday. Everything else was falling into place though; Amelia designing an amazing logo for our channel on Youtube, a blog on Tumblr and a page on NoteSpring. It was fantastic.

Messages still came in on her page so I continued to save them all. Amelia had given up with her page though, choosing to focus on better things rather than the hate she was still receiving despite the teacher having been arrested after her confession online. She had told me that during the second week of the Christmas holidays she had been taken into the police station to give evidence, and had told them everything.

Though he was going to court, she and her family had been assured that he was going to be found guilty and sentenced for his crime.

It turned out Amelia wasn't the first person he'd done it to.

When the time came that we could talk to Doctor Wang and the group, there was a little bit of distrust over the idea but after a small discussion one girl got out of her seat and smiled. She walked over and held her hand out to me and nodded.

"I'm in," she said. This bought of bravery from someone so broken inspired the others and they too agreed to join in our fight.

"This is coming together greatly," Amelia grinned as we walked out of the meeting. I nodded and held my hand out to stop the bus that was driving up the road, getting on it with her to make our way back to the college.

"It is," I smiled.

"I'm glad you came up with this," she said. "Change is needed and…"

"The victims need a voice," I said. "If we all just come together and combine the voices we do have, we'll make a loud enough one to shout all the way to Parliament. I never thought much of this problem before… But you changed everything. You inspired me to do more."

She blushed as she looked at her lap, smiling a little. "That's sweet."

I chuckled and shook my head, looking out of the window.

Another plan formed in my head.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

The weeks passed and soon January turned to February.

More specifically, the 14th of February.

Saint Valentine's Day had never been something that I had much to think about before. There had never been a person that I had wanted to be my Valentine before, nor had there been anyone that wanted me to be theirs.

School had always made the situation out to be the worst it could ever be. They always set up this table in which you would pay 50p for a Rolo or £1 for a rose to be sent to whomever you wanted to be your Valentine.

The tag line on the school news program for it had been: "do you love someone enough to give them your last Rolo?"

It would always become a competition as to who would get the most of either; naturally, the likes of myself who receiver zero were left in the dust whilst the 'popular' people who received whole packets and bouquets shone in the limelight like they had won a gold medal.

I'd received a shock when I was given a Rolo anonymously one year, but it turned out to be Ivan pulling a prank on me.

Besides the shattering of my feelings, I'd gotten a free bit of chocolate out of it so it wasn't all bad.

Anyway, despite being unsure of where I stood with Amelia in terms of a relationship, I still wanted to do something nice for her. I texted her on the afternoon before, saying that I was going to treat her and received a text back that said she'd wear something nice then.

Despite having a fairly well paid job, my money did seem to dwindle at the worst moments. However, I did manage to scrape together enough money to make a picnic and buy her a single rose.

I made my way to her house at roughly 11am that day. I was wearing jeans and a casual shirt with a waist coat. Knocking on the front door, I waited for a moment and smiled awkwardly as Francis opened the door.

"Bonjour, Arthur," he said, smiling a bit. "Are you here to woo my daughter?"

"DAD!"

Blushing madly, I couldn't help but chuckle as Amelia rushed over and pushed him back into the house. I smiled as I looked at her; she was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt under a red dress with tights it seemed and brown boots. Her hair was brushed and clipped back with an American flag hair pin.

"Sorry about him," she said, putting her bag over her shoulders and smiling at me.

"No worries," I smiled, holding my hand out to her. I was holding the rose, which she took with a bright smile. She then took it and blushed a little, walking out of her front garden with me.

"What are we going to do?" she asked me, glancing down at the basket in my other hand. "A picnic?"

"Uh huh," I said, smiling at her. Grinning, she kissed my cheek and got onto the bus with me, looking out of the window and around the town as we made our way to the outer town where the biggest, brightest park was. It was right across the street from the main bus station for the town, so we got off and ran across the street once we got there. I set up the blanket quickly, motioning for Amelia to sit down as I sorted out the rest of the picnic.

We ate and laughed and drank until everything was gone, simply laying back on the blanket after I'd put the rubbish away and looking up at the sky. I had my arm around her, her head laying on my arm like it was a pillow.

"Thanks for today, Arthur," she said, looking up at me.

"You're welcome," I smiled back at her. She looked conflicted for a brief moment so I stroked her cheek softly and smiled. "I really like you, Amelia. A lot. But I understand that you are still going through a lot. So, even if we're still just friends at the moment or if you want us to be more… I mean, we kissed and… Well, I'm willing to wait as long as you need… That's if you even want to be with me… I might just be jumping the gun…"

"I like you too, Arthur," she replied, smiling at me softly. "I do want to be with you… I'm just…"

"We'll take things as slow as you want," I smiled, kissing her head reassuringly. She looked up at me for a moment before kissing me on the lips.

"Thank you, Arthur."

_**Notes:**_

**Sorry for the weekend delay. I was rather busy and things just took up my time.**

**So, how about Arthur's plan then? Anyone expecting that? No? Well, more will be happening with that as the story progresses.**

**I hope that you all continue to support this story as it means a lot to me that so many of you have been commenting.**

**Oh, and true stories with in that chapter. My radio teacher really is a news presenter on Heart FM and Capital FM in the UK, and my Journalism teacher is a real journalist!**


	8. Companion

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**Companion**_

I've come to realise that I have this problem of letting an idea sweep me away from reality. I mean, I can think of something and then it will completely take away all of my focus at any given time in the day.

It's not so bad during the day time; I can pass it off as thinking of what to do next on an assignment or just casual daydreaming. But at night time it's really difficult as it generally takes away any time that I would usually (and probably should) be spending on sleep.

As it turned out, now that I had this idea for the Anti-bullying channel in my head it was the only thing that I could really think of. I kept coming up with ways that we could raise money, ways that the channel could be promoted, what the content could evolve to…

I really needed a break…

I rolled over and tried to get myself back to sleep, but nothing I did seemed capable of getting anywhere into my subconscious to tell me to go to sleep…

With a sigh, I hauled myself out of bed and quickly got myself dressed. I knew that I was really going to pay for this, but at the time I though _Hell, it's Saturday; I can sleep it off tomorrow_. Despite the weather reporter saying that it was meant to be warming up in the next few days, it really was still really cold during that week in February.

I snuck out of my room as silently as I could, shutting my bedroom door back up behind me in order to make it seem as though I was still inside. I mean, there was no need to worry my family when everything was alright.

Walking downstairs, I grabbed my keys from the hooks we have beside the fridge in the kitchen then got a nearby notebook and wrote down that I was going for a walk just in case. My mother always got up at five on the dot, but usually on the weekend she would lay in bed until about eight in the morning. Hopefully it wouldn't seem to suspicious if I wasn't back when she got up, but if I wasn't back at least it would seem as though I had only gone out recently.

Quietly leaving my house, I started to wander through the darkened streets, kicking my feet through puddles from the rainfall that had been happening during the night. It was still raining a little as I went on my little meander, the damp soaking through my thin jacket and making my skin erupt in light goose bumps. I couldn't help to keep splashing through the puddles that I found at my feet though; it was just a childhood habit that I had never really grown out of.

Despite how awake I was feeling and how much energy I seemed to be developing with every splash and chuckle, I keep feel myself start to slip into that conscious limbo. You know that feeling when you're lying in bed and you just can't get to sleep, that painful feeling when you know you should be asleep but something just won't let you and you shut down?

Yeah, I was starting to get a very bad case of that and I really didn't need my senses shutting down as I walked through the streets.

It wasn't that I was ashamed of where I came from…

Actually, I lie…

I was terribly ashamed of where I came from. As multi-cultural as that part of the town could really become, you were never short of the people who thought that Adidas was the best brand in the world, leggings were really trousers and tracksuits were the fashion icon of the century.

When I was younger, I would always sing a little song as I walked past the people who thought Burberry was the greatest pattern they could ever wear. "Moon chavs, Chavs on the moon! Riding around in their Burberry spaceships!"

Needless to say that cardio wasn't just the first rule in that zombie movie…

When I was in senior school, right at the very beginning of my five years there, I was told that in the newspapers the area that I lived in was referred to in two different ways; when something good happened it was referred to as the wider outer city, but when some bad happened it was the smaller section.

Because of where I came from, my future looked pretty bleak on the careers front; all because of postcode lottery that had managed to make where I came from one of the worst places to live in the country.

That didn't mean that I was ashamed of my country; oh no, far from it. I loved my country, I was proud to be British but sometimes it was some of the people that really annoyed me.

Feeling my energy start to slip again, I managed to make my way into one of the earliest opening stores that I could remember near my house and hurried straight to the cooler aisle. There were 3 fridges lined up holding a variety of drinks all ordered firstly in price value and then at the type they were:

- Juice

- Fizzy

- Fizzy energy

Normally, I would never consume such products as those heavily caffeinated energy drinks but my system was in dire need of something that would give me an extreme energy boost; and caffeine was the first thing that I could think of.

I was already fairly addicted to caffeine because of all of the tea that I drank on a daily basis; a fact that surprised Amelia when I had first told her (tea had a higher caffeine concentration than coffee). She hadn't believed me but when I showed her the boxes she slowly came to do so.

Looking up and down the shelves in the final fridge, I tried to pick the energy drink that I knew from my old friends drinking would actually taste nice whilst giving me a boost. I didn't want to be extremely hyper either; one of my friends had given me a half can of Monster one time and I had been bouncing off of the walls so badly that the substitute teacher that was covering our class thought that I was the member of the group that had ADHD.

Rummaging through my pockets, I finally found all of the change that I had left tucked away in my jeans; counting it out to make £1 exactly. That helped me narrow down my choice of drink dramatically to one brand so I picked up a nice chilled can of RockStar and went over to the till where the sleepy looking cashier looked at me for a moment before yawning loudly, her mouth opening so wide that I could see the dark fillings encasing her back molars.

"Thas a powd plause," she said, her yawning slurring her request. Not wanted to get into an argument over any possible comments I could make over her grammar, I handed her the money and left the store before she could say anything more to me; opening the can as I did so and taking a sip from the cool caffeinated liquid within it.

I gasped a sigh as I continued my wander through the damp streets, drinking more and more of the energy drink and feeling myself become more alert once more. My mother had always said I was a sensitive child to sugary things like energy drinks and chocolate and such, I had such a sweet tooth that I had to have two of the more eroded once removed and braces put into place to close up the gaps and align my teeth.

My entire final year of school I had spent with these God awful stubs glued to my teeth, the colour of them an awful purple that my mother had picked out before I could get a word in edgeways. I had actually wanted blue ones, but no. Mother knows best.

Either way, they ruined what little reputation I had meaning that prom was a no go, no girl would go near me without giggling awkwardly and walking away again, and I was an easy target for anyone that wanted to cause me pain at simple measures.

Mostly Ivan but I wasn't keeping count or anything.

I wasn't sad that I never got to go to my senior prom; it had turned out to be a right bore anyway according to the people who had gone. I was getting texts from some of the people that had remained my friends saying about how slow the speeches from the teachers were going, how lame the music was, how crap the food was and that everything was basically a waste of between £200 - £2000.

I had done the economical thing and had taken the train to London for the day with Ryan and Aednat earlier in the morning to go to the premier of the final Harry Potter movie. As geeky as the three of us seemed, cheering and screaming as the cast and brilliant author walked along the red carpet past us (I got autographs from them all, I was very proud to say), but the fact that I was finally able to do something with two of my siblings that we all enjoying shadowed every other feeling that I had had about missing what the teachers had been calling 'a pivotal moment in what would be the beginning of the rest of our lives'.

Funnily enough, I was doing better without the nagging pressures of the people in that school and the aura of darkness that it seemed to don nowadays. It was like that whole half a decade was just another bad dream that I could just throw away, keeping the lessons that I had learnt and the grades that I had received in order to better myself so that I would never again have to enter a place as horrible as that.

I didn't know quite how long I had actually been walking for but after throwing away the now empty can, I looked around my surroundings and found that I had stopped in a place that was very familiar.

I was outside Amelia's house, well, across the street beside the bus stop but it was there. Right there. For a moment, I thought that perhaps she would still be asleep; she wasn't as stupid as I was when it came to sleeping patterns so surely she would be resting.

My doubts started to settle in though as I saw a dim light shining through the cracks of the blinds in her bedroom window. Her room was at the front of the house, a big ledge right underneath her window with a pole attached meaning that it would be fairly easy for me to climb up quietly and have peak inside.

Looking both ways as I got to the rode, I waited for a car to pass before hurrying over to the other side of the rode and into their front garden. I closed the gate as quietly as I could as I got inside, walking over to the pole and using it to climb up onto the dirty ledge underneath Amelia's bedroom.

I flinched slightly and waved my arms around in a slight panic as I came literally face to face with a giant spider's web, but I managed to get rid of it with little noise. (I hated spiders…)

Carefully I moved closer to her window, tilting my head to an angle that I could see through the blinds and inside the room. She was awake. Amelia was curled up with her covers almost above her face as she shook, the lights flashing from the TV flickering with dark reds and greens suggesting that she had put on a horror movie.

Now, I really didn't want to scare her but at the same time I didn't want to seem like some creeper stalking her through her blinds. It was either knock and make her jump or get arrested for being a peeping Tom; and the latter really wasn't going to become an option any time soon.

So, prudently I reached forwards and rapped my knuckles against the glass. I heard her nearly scream and fall out of bed, resisting the urge to laugh as she came rushing to the window and opened her blinds to see me knelt outside smiling sheepishly.

"Arthur!" she exclaimed quietly, looking around before letting me into her room. I climbed through the window carefully and brushed myself off just in time for her to start hitting me in the chest.

"Ow, Amie!"

"You bastard! Scared the fucking shit out of me!" she grunted through each punch to my chest, a light squeak escaping her as I captured her hands within my own to stop the violence. Looking down at her finally, I noticed that she was only in a thin vest top and a pair of lacy knickers. I could feel myself heating up in multiple places but focused my attention to her face instead and saw that she was looking up at me confusedly. "What are you even doing here, Arthur?"

"I couldn't sleep," I explained. "I just started wandering and let my feet lead the way."

"And they led you all the way to my window?" she asked, smirking lightly. Unable to stop myself, I let my hands trail from hers, along her arms and down to her waist. I felt her hands run up my chest and drape loosely around my neck, her body pressing against mine slowly and intimately. I didn't understand where this feeling was coming from; as far as I was aware, we were together but not doing anything too serious just yet because of…

"Amie?" I whispered, letting my head dip down by her neck. My lips were starting to press light kisses to her skin, working up and down as I felt her head tilt to the side. We started walking back towards her bed as I caressed her waist and hips with my hands lightly, Amelia holding onto me as we got onto the bed. I pressed the top of my forehead lightly to hers, at an angle that our noses were touching too, and looked into her eyes. "Why can't you sleep?" I asked her.

"I don't know," she replied, kissing me lightly on the lips.

I kissed her back for a moment before pulling back slightly. "Amie, what are we doing?" I asked. "I thought…"

She cut me off by pressing her lips to mine again and pulling me lightly down on top of her as she laid back on the mattress. When we separated again, she had a soft smile on her face. "Arthur… I'm still not ready for… for sex… Don't get me wrong… I… Well, I have really strong feelings for you… But I'm not that ready yet…"

"So, we're…?"

"Together," she said, pausing for a moment. "In lo-"

"In love?" I smiled.

"Yeah," she smiled. "And… willing to experiment?"

I chuckled softly and kissed her again, staying connected to her for a little while before pulling back and smiling. "I wouldn't mind that."

"That's cause you're a pervert," she grinned cheekily, laughing quietly as I tickled her in retaliation. I was glad that I had gone out on that walk now; I had cleared my mind and managed to get answers for my heart as well. We were companions; more than that, we were friends, allies, lovers. Sex made no difference for the time being, it was something that would come to us when we were both ready. We had each other and that's all we needed.

_**Notes:**_

**Urgh… I am so sorry for such a long delay… and for how crap this chapter turned out! :'(**

**First I get a bad case of writer's block for this chapter. It just didn't want to live.**

**Second I get a new laptop and needed to transfer things and make updates and such… **

**Things just kept piling up and I am so sorry.**

**Anyway, the next chapter should be a bit grittier. I have found some inspiration for that which actually disgusted me so I hope to be able to make my point. **

**See you soon! **


	9. Move

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Nine**_

_**Move**_

I guess you could say that I worry about the mundane stuff more than anything important. It had been a problem that I knew that I had had since I was about 10 years old. My mother had always joked that I had been born middle-aged, that I was a chronic worrier, but that only added paranoia to the list of the many things that were wrong with me.

I had that habit of seeing past all of the good and directly at the bad stuff; mainly stuff about myself but it extended to thing that I was involved in and various other things. I mean, I never worried about homework, projects or assignments. I was never really worried about getting into trouble either. If I did something wrong then I normally took the consequences.

Not that I was a bad child.

Well, my younger childhood (from the ages of about 3 to 7) I was a little terror. Mainly because I was trying to keep my siblings away from me. They always used to pick on me despite my size and age; if anything that seemed to encourage them more. I learnt to fight from a very young age, something that my father was soon to pick up on. That's when he started taking me to different fighting stile clubs. I didn't understand at first because there were so many; he took me to archery on Tuesdays, fencing on Thursdays, and Saturday mornings used to be mixed martial arts.

I got pretty good at it, and it soon became apparent to me that the only reason that he was paying out so much money on me on that part was because I had a problem with my temper. I remember how insulted I'd felt, but I continued to go to those classes until my schedule started to fill too much just to prove that I could do something that my siblings couldn't.

My life was basically one long competition with my siblings.

And that in turn added to how much I worried about the little things.

February was slowly moving onto March, but we were yet to make any further progress with the Anti-Bullying Channel; for the simple matter that I was starting to pick apart everything that I was going to say. I wasn't scared or worried about what it was, I was just concerned that I would get something wrong or be insensitive to someone else.

It was Anti-Bullying, not Encourage-Bullying. The bullied shouldn't become the bullies, but I was about to go out and name-and-shame the person that had kicked the crap out of me for what seemed like an eternity.

And got away with it.

Oh, well forget worrying. I'd managed to convince myself.

Having always had a keen interest in film making, I had all of the software and equipment that we would really need so all I needed was my friends to come round and then I would take that first step, make the first move.

Antonio, Lovina and Amelia had agreed to come round on the last Monday in February, one of days off, in order to get some further production finished on the radio demos and start off this little revolution of ours. I had learnt that in the time since she had agreed to be filmed for this channel, Lovina had explained her story to Antonio; a fact that had been made apparent to me in Antonio's change in body language around her. He was gentler with her in some ways it seemed, holding her different.

I waved from the sofa where I had been sat reading a book that I had gotten for Christmas (The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan) as Ryan and Aednat left for their classes of the day, Peter left for school and my parents finally left for work.

"You could do some cleaning around the house," my mother suggested to me from the front door.

"I've got friends coming over to work on our radio demos," I said, looking up from my book and smiling at her. She looked at me sceptically for a moment. "Really Mum, I have all of the stuff on my laptop. If you don't believe me, when you come home, I will show the dates it was edited and added and what we have done, okay?"

"Okay."

"You really should learn to trust me more," I said, looking back at my book as she shook her head.

"You I trust," she said. "It's other people that I don't."

As soon as she had shut the front door behind her, I let out a low sigh. She really didn't have much trust in anyone from outside of our family, especially since I had told her about the incidents at school and how Ivan got off scot-free because his father was the head governor.

Putting my book down after marking my place, I got up and went upstairs to get my camera, laptop and microphone. I wasn't sure when my friends would be coming round, only that it would be anytime between 8:30 and 9:30; it was 8:15 when I had gotten up so it was the most opportune time to set everything up in preparation in order for it to be ready for our use in time.

I plugged everything into the round extension cord that my mother had left by the conservatory door since Christmas, making sure the power was on and everything was okay as I turned my laptop on and started loading the right programs.

I heard the doorbell ring so got up and went over to it, opening it carefully and smiling out at the first person.

"Hi, Arthur!" beamed Amelia, kissing me once she had gotten inside and I'd shut the door. I held her waist and kissed her back, smiling into it.

"Hello, you," I replied, chuckling as she hugged me. I kissed the top of her head as I hugged her back, closing my eyes for a moment before letting her go. "Go on, go sit in the living room and I'll get you a drink."

"Do you have any Cola?" she asked hopefully, grinning at me more.

"I have a 12 year old brother, of course I have Cola," I chuckled, walking into the kitchen to get her a glass as she went into the living room. I poured her the drink then followed her inside, spotting her sitting next to my laptop and looking at the radio demos progresses so far.

"We've only for 4 minutes to go on the Indie one," she said. "But we have the right about speech so should we just add a song?"

"What song do you suggest then?" I asked, sitting down beside her and handing her the drink.

She took a sip of the cool dark liquid and made a contented noise before smiling at me. "I've kind of got an obsession with this Kelly Clarkson song at the moment…"

"What one's that?" I asked. "She's had a few songs."

"Stronger," she replied. "Or as it's also known What Doesn't Kill You."

I thought for a moment, trying to play the song in my head. It seemed familiar and I knew that I'd heard it before but…

"Sing a bit for me?"

"Couldn't I just Google it?"

"Sing please," I grinned. "Come on, you'll be recording the cover of it anyway if you do want this song."

"Fine…" she said. "_What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller. Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone. What doesn't kill you makes a fighter, footsteps even lighter. __Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone__. __What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger__. __Just me, myself and I__. __What doesn't kill you makes you stronger__, __stand a little taller__. __Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone_…"

"I like it," I smiled. "We definitely need to get that recorded soon." She blushed and hid behind her glass as she sipped it, so I kissed her head and chuckled. The doorbell rang again so I got to my feet and went to it, letting Antonio and Lovina inside. "Would you like a drink?"

"Si," Lovina said. "Could I have some orange juice, per favore?"

"A lemonade if you don't mind," Antonio smiled.

"Go through and I'll bring them in," I said, motioning into the living room as I went into the kitchen once more. Honestly, acting like a gentleman towards people was turning me into a waiter but it was the polite thing to do. I mean, I'd be insulted if I went to someone's house and wasn't offered a drink for my trouble. So, I got them their drinks and brought them back to the living room to find them surrounding the laptop and listening to the Indie demo so far. Amelia was blushing brighter as her voice rang out through the speakers so I sat next to her after handing over the glasses and put my arm around her.

"So, what are our tasks for today?" Antonio asked.

"Film the first video for the Youtube channel," I said, counting off from my mental check-list. "Record Amelia's final song for the Indie channel, do the final speech segment for the Community channel explaining the bullying stuff and then we are done!"

"You'd better get in front of that camera then," Lovina said, getting up and turning it on. "Where are you going to sit?"

A little nervous now, I got up and sat in the single chair by the patio door making myself comfortable before looking up at Lovina. She managed to get the tripod into the right position and get a good angle for the lighting behind me and that it looked natural.

I waited, watching as she pressed record and the little red light turned on. For editing purposes, I waited 5 seconds before finally talking.

"Hi," I said. "My name's Arthur Kirkland and I'm 17 years old. My story starts back at the beginning of Year Eight, when I was 12 years old. In Year Seven, I hadn't been in the highest class. I was actually in the third highest. But I always got the highest grades where English, History, Music and Art were concerned. Dance, Maths and Science were never my forte, but I managed to get high enough grades.

"I always got digs about it, getting called a bof, boffin and a teacher's pet. I was by no means any of that. I wasn't the smartest kid in school and most of the teachers I loathed. I just went in, got on and went home. We had an awards ceremony at the end of the year. I was given the best award, along with a ton of little awards for my efforts through the year.

"Then the summer came, and I wasn't expecting anything to happen. I never really had friends in any of the classes I was in and never saw anyone I knew around during the holidays. It was always just my family going on trips and being in each other's company.

"But then school started again. I went in to get my timetable and planner to find that I had been put up into the second highest class. I was thrilled. I was being acknowledged in a more challenging way, one that I could actually work from.

"It was my status on MSN. _Last year third, this year second! Working my way to the top!_ But that's when it first started. Because I was happy I was doing well.

"A boy called Ivan opened a chat with me. He was in the class I'd left behind, and I could tell from his first message that he was pissed off with me being raised. 'You're just trying to be like _so-and-so_' he'd said, 'you're a bof! A geek! You'll never get anywhere!'

"Oh, I was mad. I commented back. 'Just because I don't want to be a drunk with 7 kids doesn't mean I'm a bof' I'd said, 'just because I'll get further in life than you will'. I regretted rising to it. It lowered me to his level, the pettiness of it all.

"I found out that I shouldn't have done anything but just press ESC. The next day at school, Ivan's sister joined in. Natalia. She was always a little too close to her brother, and took anything that happened to him personally. She started rumours about me, called me names, threatened me with a well hidden knife once. I'd told a teacher about her knife, but when they searched her it was gone.

"But Ivan didn't need her. He was clever enough on his own. At 5ft9 at age 12, he always towered over me. At that age, I was only 5ft4 so that 5inch difference was all that he needed to intimidate me.

"The physical stuff started when my class changed classrooms. He's moved into my set for science too, so we were both in the second class for that now. He'd always been obsessed with physics and nuclear radiation so it made sense that Science would be a strong subject for him. But our classroom was on the top floor of that block of buildings. We had to queue on the right hand side of the stairs so other classes could get out of rooms and such, but for how the queue had gone that day I was half on one step and half on another. Now, my Maths class and his had been set the exact same paper to do during that lesson but I managed to get a higher score than him when they compared the charts in front of us.

"That pissed him off. So, I was in the right position on those stairs for just one knock to send me flying down the two stories. I hit the bottom hard, so hard I was knocked out for a few minutes. They had to take me to the hospital because I had a concussion and a broken arm.

"But it didn't stop there. When I got back into school, the abuse continued. Things were thrown at me in the classroom when the teacher wasn't looking because Ivan's friends didn't like me either. I was attacked in the street on my way to school one day; they threw stones at me amongst other things… On my way home one day, he pushed me into the road. I was on my back laying lengthways, thankfully, so the car drove over me and didn't hurt me, but my God the shock nearly killed me instead…

"It went on for 5 months because I was too scared to tell anyone and too proud to admit that someone was able to make me feel as pathetic and small and useless as he did.

"Then one day he decided to just beat me up in the corridor. I mean, he laid into me. My arm broke again, my nose, a few ribs. I was in hospital for a while and when I got back into school… I got detention because I accidently broke his nose trying to defend myself. And to add insult to injury, he didn't get punished for what he did to me. You see, his father was one of the governors of the school. He made sure that nothing happened to him. 'That boy is a menace' he'd said about me, 'a completely out of control child. If he wasn't acting like such a fool he wouldn't have gotten hurt, Ivan was the victim'.

"But nothing happened after that. I think his father must have told him off for what he did, for making him look like a fool. But as a wealthy man with contacts with contacts, he couldn't be seen to have such an unruly son. So pinned it all on me.

"It made me grow up more. Summers passed and I did get to the top of the year group. I made it on my own after all the pain and torture I was put through at the beginning. I've not seen him since, but he's still not been punished for what he did."

I waited a further 5 seconds before nodding to Lovina who stopped filming. The silence that echoed from my recollection was profound and heavy, so I took a deep breath and looked at Amelia and Antonio as they had been watching the video as it was recorded onto the laptop. They both looked up at me with carefully neutralised expressions, speechless for what seemed like the first time in a long time.

"Arthur… I never knew that it was that bad," Amelia said quietly. "Why didn't you tell that all to the group?"

I shrugged. "I don't know…" I said. "Come on, let's just got this exported and uploaded."

Nodding, they both shifted out of the way as I moved over to the laptop, adding the logo to the bottom left hand corner of the screen and making sure it was the right ratio for HD. I muted my laptop for the time being, smiling as Amelia got her laptop out from her bag.

"Time to record my song, right?" she asked.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

At 3 o'clock, the video had officially been uploaded after the introduction film as _Arthur's Story_ for 5 hours. We'd shared it onto the Tumblr blog, the NoteSpring page, Twitter and Facebook. It was officially out there, my story was being heard.

They say a watched kettle never boils so with that logic in mind I made sure that the others didn't keep checking it for views or comments whilst we worked on the demos. Amelia's song had turned out perfectly, a proud blush forming on her face as we applauded after I'd finished the recording.

We got the demos exported at 3:15, grinning at our success of getting these demos finished a week before they were needed to be. As they saved, I finally let them look at the video on Amelia's laptop.

"Whoa, it's got a lot of views already…" Antonio said.

"And comments," Lovina added.

"Get ready to printscreen then," I said, bracing myself.

"Why?" asked Antonio.

"I'm not expecting many good comments."

Nervously, they clicked on the video and looked at the comments; noises of disgust erupting as they read them.

_Ew, a Birt! Get it off of the Internet!_

_What a faggot!_

_Die British fag!_

_I hope terrorists blow your family up._

_Get raped by a good, thick American cock, you little British bastard!_

_Maybe you got bullied because you're a stuck up dick?_

_I hope you kill yourself_

_You're British. You don't deserve respect from anyone. I hope there's another world war and we kill you because Britain doesn't do anything for the rest of the world and you're disgusting people who think they can just invade other countries and take them over when you can't._

_Maybe this Ivan kid should had pushed you at a different angle?_

"That's just vile…" Amelia said, staring at the screen before looking at me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I smiled. "I was expecting a poor response. Now, let's printscreen those, username and all and get ready to make a video naming-and-shaming them."

"You're just an evil genius, aren't you?" Lovina said, printscreening the comments and saving them to a folder on Amelia's laptop.

I laughed. "You could say that."

"There are a few nice ones here too," Antonio said.

_I feel so sorry for you…_

_I hope you're okay now_

_Thank you for sharing that story; it made me believe in good people again._

_Ignore those idiots giving hate; who cares what nationality you are! The Internet is for sharing, it's not a solely American system anymore!_

_Urgh, racism just shows how narrow-minded some people can be._

_Hey, racist comments! Yeah, cos that's not counted as bullying. *sarcasm*_

"See," I smiled. "There are some good people out there; they're just hidden within the shouting contest."

_**Notes:**_

**I am so sorry for such a delay! I wanted to make sure that this chapter was absolutely perfect before I put it up!**

**So, the group have made their first move on their anti-bullying campaign! And weren't those first set of comments delightful?**

**Apart for some that were tweaked to fit the story, these messages were actually sent to one person on the 4****th**** of July:**

25 .media .tumblr tumblr _ m6mjygLuWq1ql1tiho1_500 .png (no spaces)

**and**

25 .media .tumblr tumblr _ m6mjygLuWq1ql1tiho2_500 .png (no spaces)

**I'd hate to think that anyone reading this wrote any of those comments but I will openly say that I am disgusted by what I saw. I'm British too so despite them not being sent to myself, it still made me sick thinking that someone would blatantly say that they want to nuke my country.**

**Anyway, I hope to get another update out soon so see you!**


	10. Silver

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Ten**_

_**Silver**_

Things seemed to keep at a steady awful pace after my story had been told to the Internet. It wasn't that I wasn't expecting anything to come from it. On the contrary, I was hoping that something would come from it; and it really did. People from my class started to talk to me, some giving me grief for being so open on the Internet and others saying that I was very brave for sharing what had happened to me so openly.

It was a good thing in a sense that it was coming in my direction now because it was giving Amelia time to get herself back together from all of the Hell they'd been putting her through. That didn't mean that some people didn't still give her grief but it was on such a smaller scale in person now that she was able to find ways to get over the pain much quicker.

She talked to me every day. I made sure that she opened up to me if she'd had a tough day or just wanted to say about anything happening at home. If it wasn't at college or times going out on weekends then it would be on MSN or Skype (depending on which server would work).

We had even managed to get our radio demos handed in to Lara a week before the deadline, giving us time to be able to relax. In theory… Our group actually ended up working on other projects that we had been set and needed to catch up on. In our efforts to bring about a change to cyber bullying laws, we had sort of forgotten the other projects that we would actually be _graded_ on… It wasn't a drastic fall back but it was a very lucky situation for us to have fallen into to get classroom time in other lessons to catch up.

March was slowly fading away into a blur of campaign, college, work and relationships. I found myself daydreaming to while away dull hours some of the time or logging into our channel to look at responses to the video of hateful comments posted to my video. More had been coming in so we had to keep a check on it until I wrote down the very last comment into our planning notebook so that we could look back through and possibly make a second video full of comments. Basically, I'd capped it…

It was on the second to last Friday in March (when Antonio wasn't in due having caught a bug) that Lovina finally talked us through when she wanted to do her video. It was a very touch and go for her story, but in the end (after how I had dealt with mine) she said that she definitely wanted to share.

"Antonio doesn't know any of it," she said, running her fingers through her long dark hair. I'd noticed she did that when she was nervous, that and started twirling strands around her fingers. "I'm definitely not the same person I used to be back then…"

"I know," I replied, patting her knee and smiling. "I was there."

Lovina smiled a bit at my gesture.

"What actually happened?" Amelia asked, looking between us. Lovina looked at her for a moment before shaking her head.

"You'll find out when we get it recorded soon," she said, smiling a bit. "It's not as bad as what's happened to you but… I'm just…"

"I get it," Amelia replied, smiling at her reassuringly. "I shouldn't have pried."

Smiling, Lovina nodded to her thankfully until we all jumped as our Pre Production teacher, Rodney, came over to ask how we progressing on our individual projects.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Saturday was far too hot my liking.

It was as if the weather was conspiring to make me as drowsy as possible at work. I was working with Little Carol again, the talkative old lady who would ramble on about her diabetes, cats and fact that she divorced her "no-good-lay-about-ex-husband".

I'd been at work for nearly 2 hours already, more shorts starting to stick to my legs a little from the sweat building up in the stuffy little shop and my armpits certainly starting to become noticeable through my t-shirt.

"Go on, Love," Carol said to me, patting my arm. "I'll deal with this little queue, you go to the fridge and buy yourself some water. You look like you need it."

I looked at her, taking in the sweat building up in her red-dyed hair that looked more black the more she sweated. The queue was only four people, but some of them seemed to have picked up so many bottles of drinks and food themselves that it seemed unfair to let her cope on her own. She seemed to pick this thought up in my expression.

"Arthur, go get a drink," she said, almost pushing me away from my till. "I'll be fine. I'm in here alone sometimes during the EuroMillions rush, so if I can cope with that I can cope with four people."

"Okay! Okay!" I said, chuckling and holding my hands up in surrender. She went to bat at me with a nearby duster, so I hurried down to the fridge and picked out a bottle of water. I had to dodge of couple kids who were running to the queue on my way back, walking around the counter and getting back to my till. I paid for my drink, took in a big gulp of the water as I finally opened it and let out a contented sigh as the cool liquid made its way round my body.

"Mind the tills," Carol smiled. "I'm gonna start the vacuuming."

"Okay," I replied, taking another swig of water before turning to the next customer. "Up here please, Sir."

Another hour past, meaning that I only had an hour and a half left to do before I could go home and crash out on the sofa. Mum said that they were starting a barbeque at about that time but they would save some food for me and Amelia.

That was one of the reasons that I _didn't_ want to leave work that day; because my mother wanted to formally meet my girlfriend… It wasn't really the most promising event my mum had ever planned before. I could still remember when she first met Ambre; it had been a complete nightmare as she accidentally cooked something that she was allergic too and Scott had to find her medication quickly before taking her to the hospital. She was a bit tentative about going to our house from then on…

Oh, and then there's Ruby. She's from New Zealand but was studying in Wales where she met my brother Bryn. He's still not let Mum meet her yet but it shouldn't be too long before she forces him to bring her round…

But because I still live at home, under their rules, I have to bring Amelia into the war zone with my Dad trying to use a barbeque while Mum faffs about trying to get him to do it the right way whilst hurting his masculinity as in his words 'the woman's work is in the kitchen, the men handle the barbeque'.

So, when I looked at the digital clock on the till and it said 16:00 I could feel myself starting to sweat more. Thankfully, it was starting to get slower for customers as the day had progressed so much further and the barbeques were coming out to appreciate the sunshine before the real British weather came back and doused down all their tans.

I sighed softly and lent my head down on the counter before me. Apart from the food, I was looking forward to getting into the pool in our back garden. Dad had it built when I was five, so from that point it was another source of entertainment for my siblings and I. I distinctly remember one time when I was 8 and Scott thought it was a good idea to teach me how to play pirates; he ended up walking the plank of my ship and I ruled over them.

"Arthur, customer," came Carol's voice from down the aisle. I looked up and saw her stacking cards still, blinking slightly as Lara walked up to the till with some water and a bag of sweets. She was with her daughter, Chloe, holding the 3 year olds hand and giving me an equally surprised look as she walked up to my till.

"Hey, Lara," I smiled, getting a cloth and cleaning the counter where my sweaty forehead had just been. She smiled too and set the items down when I was finished.

"Hello, Arthur," she replied. "I wasn't expecting to see you in here!"

"Yeah," I chuckled. "I've been working here for a while. I've not seen you come in before though."

She nodded and started getting her money out as I scanned her items. "I'm my way to a friend's son's pool-birthday party," Lara explained. "I just picked her up from the child-minder after work."

"Oh yeah!" I smiled. "I heard you on the radio earlier!"

She was about to reply but we were both distracted as Amelia came over with a can of Coke in her hands. She looked at us both and smiled.

"Hey!"

"Hello, Amelia," we both said, smiling.

"Oh, this reminds me!" Lara suddenly said, handing over her money and waiting for change. "I was grading your groups demos in work today; I needed something to do while I waited to do my reports. I have to say that I'm very impressed by the skill you've all shown! Depending on the verifying from the internal graders you should be expecting to get a Distinction for you work. Distinction overall if your evaluations keep up to the same standard."

"That's amazing!" Amelia grinned, handing me the can after I'd given Lara her change and items.

"I even showed them to my colleague," Lara smiled. Amelia blushed and my eyes widened.

"You showed them to Paul…?" we both asked; Paul was the main presenter of the very popular morning show on the station Lara worked for. He'd come to give us a tutorial session one day and he was pretty much one of the nicest celebrities ever.

"I did," she replied. "And he was very impressed with them. At first he thought I was playing him two professional stations. He adores you, Amelia. Absolutely loves your singing! He told me to tell you that you have a lot of talent," Amelia blushed more at the comment and handed me her money, "and Arthur… You bullying section. We checked out the website and your video… It was… touching. And the comments that you were receiving were absolutely disgusting."

"That was the plan," I said, Amelia nodding as she took her can back. "After what happened… and going to a support group meeting and hearing their stories… I got mad. It made me sick to think that there were people out there getting away with making people feel like they shouldn't be alive… So, I suggested the channel to the guys and they agreed. We've got a lot of people coming forward to record their stories with us, plus people posting us their own videos to share their stories too."

Lara nodded. "We watched the introduction video," she smiled. "Which is why I also have a request from Paul for you."

"What's this then?"

"He wants the four of you, Amelia, Antonio, Lovina and yourself, to go to the station in Southsea and be interview on air to promote this campaign of yours," Lara explained. Amelia looked at me in surprise, smiling at this hint of success. "He wants more people to hear about this because bullying's a big thing for him. So, what should I tell him?"

I looked at Amelia before smiling at Lara. "We'll do it."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Amelia hung around to keep me and Carol some company for the rest of the day after Lara left with Chloe. She was still buzzing about getting to be interviewed by Paul, sitting on the counter and talking about it excitedly as Carol and I shut up shop.

We left through the back door and started to walk back to my house, holding hands and basking in the sunshine that beat down on us. It was still so hot for 5:30 in the afternoon, but now that I was with Amelia it didn't really seem to matter all that much.

The walk back to my house took only 10 minutes, so I text Mum that we were nearly home. When she replied it was a simple message saying _back gate's open_. Meaning that they were too lazy to get up and answer the front door for us. I lead Amelia round the back of my large house, opening the back gate for her and smiling at my family as they called over their hellos.

"Hi," Amelia smiled, looking up at Mum as she walked over to give her a welcoming hug. I looked at the rest of my family, taking in the scene; Aednat was in shorts and a vest dipping her feet into the water, Ryan was lying on a lilo with sunglasses on but you could tell he was dozing off from the heat, and Dad was stood by the barbeque cooking food.

"Hello, Dear," Mum said, hugging Amelia and smiling at her. "It's so nice to officially meet you!"

"You too!" grinned Amelia. "Arthur's told me a lot about you!"

"Only good stuff I should hope," Mum said.

"Of course!"

I went over and got Amelia a burger, getting myself a hotdog before sitting down by the pool and waiting for her to finish talking with my mother. It was nice that they were getting along, things seeming to be going smoother than with Ambre. When Amelia came and sat with me, she had a large smile on her face. I think my smile must have reflected hers as in the background I heard Mum say "awwwwww".

Chuckling, I kissed Amelia on the cheek softly before we tucked into our food. I heard Aednat snigger so poked my tongue out at her, grinning as she laughed.

"Shut it!" I said, laughed.

Mum shook her head as I splashed her, purposely hitting Amelia with water too and grinning as she squealed.

"ARTHUR!" she exclaimed, finishing the last bit of her burger before splashing me back. I laughed and shielded myself, Aednat joining in and getting me wetter. I shook my head as Ryan laughed at us, glancing at my older sister and girlfriend before joining them in splashing him so much he fell into the water.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

We laughing so much that we didn't hear the phone ringing inside the house. We were only made aware of the fact when Mum came outside with an upset expression on her face. We looked at her, Dad moving over to her worriedly.

"Lizzie," he said. "What's going on?"

"Our son is a stubborn, secretive sod," Mum replied. Aednat and Amelia looked to Ryan and I, both of us shrugging to say it could be us she was talking about.

"Mum, what's wrong?" Aednat asked.

Mum chuckled slightly and rubbed her head, clearly going through so many emotions she didn't know which to pick. "Nothing's wrong, per say, Honey," she replied. "It's Scott. He's just given us some news that he really should have told us months ago…"

"What?" we asked.

"He's been studying of course, and holding down a job well enough," she explained. "But he's been supporting Ambre who has not been going to her classes in University directly."

"Why's that bad?" Ryan asked.

"Because she's seven months pregnant," Mum replied.

Dad blinked and looked at her for a moment. "Scott got the French girl pregnant?"

Nodding, Mum sighed. "He said he was going to tell us sooner but Christmas didn't seem the right time and he was busy with work and classes… And her parents came over from France to see her and make sure she was okay, so he thought now would be a good time to tell us."

We were all stunned by the news, though Amelia looked more neutral as she hadn't met Scott. I looked to my siblings, the twins looking back at me; we were happy and worried at the same time. It was scary to think that in 2 months Scott was going to be a father. He wasn't the most paternal person, but he could do anything he put his mind to it.

Dad smiled a bit and put his arm around Mum, kissing her head. "They'll be okay," he said. "Ambre seemed like a strong girl and Scott's perfectly capable. Just look forward to seeing that little baby. Did he tell you what it is?"

Mum shook her head but smiled. "He said they were coming to visit next week."

After making Mum sit down to calm her down, Dad called Peter down from his bedroom to tell him the good news; my younger brother looking absolutely stunned at the news.

"So, Ambre's pregnant?" he asked. "Does he just like overshadowing people's news?"

Mum laughed and hugged Peter, kissing his head. "You're silver medal from sports day is still great news to us, Baby," she said. "But a baby is such a big change."

Peter nodded and smiled. "Okay," he said, moving over and getting more food.

Looking to Amelia, I smiled apologetically as things returned to the usual insanity. She shifted next to me and kissed my cheek, smiling as she then lent her head on my shoulder. I smiled more and put my arm around her, watching my mad family.

I couldn't help, what with the news of Scott's impending parenthood, imaging my future. I could see a nice house and a large garden; I saw Amelia, so beautiful and loving, holding our child…

"Arthur?"

I looked at the girl, taking in her slightly confused expression. I smiled softly and kissed her, pulling back to see her looking more confused.

"You're so weird," she said, smiling finally.

"I love you too."

_**Notes:**_

**Sorry for the delay on this! I've been really busy but finally found some more inspiration for this!**

**I'm not really sure what to say so I'll just explain a couple of points:**

**~ EuroMillions: basically the lottery. But for Europe.**

**~ Ambre: I know that I have France in this story but I really like ScotlandxFrance as a pairing so made Fem!France. Oh, and bonus for the secret baby?**

**~ Silver was basically a metaphor apart from Peter's silver medal.**

**~ Paul is the name of a radio present my radio teacher works with. But in this case I was combining him and Chris Evans (if you've not heard of him Google 'Chris Evans radio presenter').**

**Look out for the next chapter soon!**


	11. Prepared

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Eleven**_

_**Prepared**_

I was sat in a sea of cigarette boxes and scratch-cards, my eyes still drooping from the early hour. I wasn't used to coming into work so earlier; well, I say early, it was only ten past eight in the morning but for my usual hours, that was being thrown into a different time zone.

Carol had me sorting out the scratch-cards and cigarettes whilst she set all the magazines out; it was the middle of the first week in April, the Easter holidays, meaning that everyone was on holiday for two weeks and one of the two senior full-time staff (that includes my boss) were taking some of their holiday time. Penny, the woman who's shift I was covering, usually managed the magazines and the scratch-cards but as she was the one on holiday at that moment the job had been delegated to me for the week. However, having no clue what to do and also needing an older staff member in with me, Carol had decided to take on the job herself as she actually knew what paperwork to fill in and where the magazines went.

Dad had offered to give me a lift into work that morning as he was going to pick Scott and Ambre up at the train station at the same time. It was a nice offer as Dad never usually dropped me into work, or anywhere to be frank. However, he decided that he would take his time with getting ready; I wasn't particularly worried because work was 10 minutes away by car and 30 minutes away on foot. But, when we finally got into the car we ended up stuck behind a bus. Dad would not drive around in for fear that he would damage his pressure, mid-life-crisis-bought Jag. I ended up being 3 minutes late to which Carol kept bitching.

So there I was, sitting amongst all this crap that I was surprised people still wanted to buy. I mean, really? Who would honestly want to spend nearly £10 on cancer sticks? Or the same amount on a piece of card that may or may not give you money. Yeah, I bought myself a £1 scratch card one time and won £30 but there were people who spent over £50 in a time on scratch-cards and didn't even get half of that amount back.

I distracted myself by listening to the radio we had playing in the backroom, trying to distract myself from the problem customers that kept on coming in. Some of them joked around with Carol whilst others were just a pain. Honestly, some of them I could understand why they acted like they did; there was an elderly couple that came in, both with Downs Syndrome. They needed help finding things or learning prices or counting their cash, but they were such nice people that it was no matter.

But then there was this one man that kept coming into the store and he genuinely freaked me out; he came in one time when Amelia was in the shop and I had to get Carol's permission to get her behind the counter to keep her safe…

He came in that morning too, Carol keeping a sharp eye on me as she knew what a hassle this man was. He was tall and thin, wearing a dirty dark suit and a beanie cap on his head. His hair was wispy and greying, his beard thick and grey and dirty. He carried a long umbrella with a sharp point at the tip and stared around the shop as he got to the counter.

"Can I help you?" I asked him, leaning around from my till. I would have gone to him but our tills were allocated so I had to work where I was. The man ignored me so I raised my voice a little. "Sir, can I help you?"

Finally, he looked around at me, his cold blue eyes staring at me with pupils so contracted it looked as though he had nothing but irises. He held out a slip to me, to which I checked was the correct Lottery; he had come in a week ago during my usual shift complaining that he had been given the wrong Lottery ticket. Penny had simply gave him the ticket from the slip he'd handed her, but it was too late for him to get it cancelled. Amelia, as I said before, had been with me on that first day he was there. She had ended up climbing over the counter to hide behind me as he stabbed at the floor near her, starting to go into a rage as little old Carol tried to explain to him why his Lottery was wrong.

I knew that the slip he had given me was correct but Carol came over quickly and checked too, making sure we had both witnessed that he had indeed given us the slip and if he had any complaints later he could stick it up his jacksie.

So, I got him his Lottery ticket, putting it on the counter and typing the amount owed into my till.

"That's £1 please," I said, looking up at him. He just stared back at me with his hand outstretched. "Sir, you have to give me £1 before I give you this ticket." He continued to stare at me, expecting me to hand over the ticket. "Look, the ticket is on the counter. You give me the money and I give that to you; that's how a shop works."

Finally, he pulled out a £10 note so I gave in the ticket and then his change, watching as he left the store before sighing and wiping my forehead. I hated that customer so much…

My shift for the week was 8am until 1pm, meaning that I had to deal with all the early morning lunacy. These people seemed like the type that really ought to have spent a little longer in bed or just shouldn't have got up at all…

It came to about 10am, the time that meant that I was starting to stare at the clock in hopes that I would be able to will it forwards so that I could go home and enjoy my afternoon. A smile spread across my face as I saw Amelia come into the shop, sniggering a little at the top she had decided to put on.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked me, pouting a little.

"A Union Jack vest?" I asked, trying to stop the sniggers that kept escaping me. She pouted a little more.

"This is Britain," she said. "I mean, I have shirts with my flag on but when you go through your stores, especially with the Diamond Jubilee coming up and the Olympics coming up… it's Anglophile central out there! I mean, Mattie's girlfriend Sophia is Ukrainian and she's got shirt that says 'Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake'."

I couldn't help but laugh now, shaking my head. "I know," I said. "I work in a store that thrives on selling memorabilia, buntings and flags and crap. Look at this," I ducked down and picked up some of our recent merchandise, "here we have a lovely plastic flag of the Union Jack with the Queen's face printed in the centre. How much is it? £3 because this country knows how to make a profit on special occasions."

"Fucking move it, Bitch, some of us want to buy shit!"

We looked around and saw two boys stood behind Amelia, both of which were taller than the pair of us and littered with zits and multiple skin problems. They were wearing dark hoodies and tracksuit bottoms and looked like they shared 1 brain cell between them.

"You talk enough of it so I don't see why you'd want more," Amelia retorted, squeaking slightly as the taller of the pair grabbed hold of her and shoved her out of the way.

"HEY!" I shouted.

"What's going on?" came Carol's voice as she ran up by the counter. She saw Amelia on the floor and my angry expression, then looked at the two boys. "Oh, you two. Jamie, Andy, I've had a word with Mitchel and after the way you two behaved in here the other week, you're banned. Get out!"

"Fuck off, blood," the taller, Jamie, snapped. "We go where we like, innit. Fuck you and the faggot."

"I said get out or I will call the police," Carol said, glaring at the pair. "I'm not going to stand here and let you speak like that anymore."

"Oh piss off you fucktard," Andy said, rolling his eyes.

Getting the phone, I walked around the counter and gave it to Carol, helping Amelia to her feet and squaring up to the pair. "Get the hell out of here now," I said. Size didn't matter to me; Scott was twice my size and I was able to kick his arse, these Chavs would be nothing.

"Yeah, and what are you gonna do if we don't, Fag?" Jamie asked.

"You don't want to know," I replied. The pair looked at each other for a moment before turning their attentions to me once more, lunging forwards to try and grab me. Amelia yelped and got out of the way with Carol, the elderly woman finally dialling 999. They watched, clearly surprised as I used the skills I had learnt to easily get them on the floor. Turning to them, I smiled and watched as the pair ran from the shop.

"How the hell did you do that?" Amelia asked, moving over and hugging me around my waist. I held her and kissed the top of her head.

"My parents thought I had anger issues when I was kid so sent me to do loads of clubs that would vent my anger," I said. "I am Hawkeye, basically."

She laughed at my reference of her favourite film, both of us looking round as Carol cleared her throat.

"Sorry, Carol," I said, letting Amelia go and moving back behind the counter. Amelia smiled awkwardly at Carol who went back to the front of the store to sort out the drinks again and wait for the police, then move to the side to keep me company as I served some more customers who showed up. She quietly said 'awww' as this tiny old lady walked up to the counter, the woman barely able to see above it as she put down 3 chocolate bars and asked for 3 £10 pound scratch-cards. Both of us knew of this old woman and knew that she lived not far away, but with the way she was accidentally flaunting her money and how frail she was (she was nearly 100 years old). Amelia looked at me for a moment, silently saying that she was going to walk this woman back to her house just in case those thugs came back. I nodded and continued to serve customers, watching as she walked away with the woman.

I smiled as an elderly couple came up to the counter, the pair smiling at me as they had been doing every time that they had come into the store that week. They handed me their newspapers, the elderly gent asking for his usual cigarettes and the woman asking for a £2 scratch-card.

"So, you're in college?" asked the man.

"Yes," I replied. "My first year."

"What do you do?" asked the woman, handing me the money for her stuff.

"I study media," I replied, smiling and giving them their change and putting the stuff in a carrier bag. "All stuff like graphics and journalism and stuff along those lines."

"That sounds exciting," the man said. "You must be good at all that computer technical stuff."

"I dabble," I said, chuckling as the man laughed.

"I bet you're missing all the attention from girls at the moment," the woman said. "A handsome boy like you surely gets a fawned over."

I laughed and shook my head. "With eyebrows like these?" ironically I said. "No… There's only one girl's who's attention I care about-"

"And whose attention is that, Arthur?"

We looked round as Amelia stood by the freezer not far away, her arms folded and an expression on her face that showed she was actually rather worried.

"Is this the girl you were talking about?" the woman asked.

"Yeah, that's her," I smiled, Amelia blinking a little and blushing. The elderly couple walked away with knowing smiles, Amelia coming over to me as they were the last people in the store.

"You were telling them about me?" she asked, the blush still prominent on her cheeks.

"Yes, sort of," I said. "They were saying that I must miss all the attention from girls in college being so handsome so I joked about my eyebrows and said… Well, you heard that bit."

"You're so sweet sometimes, Arthur," she said, hugging me over the counter.

"Ah, mi Amigo, no public affection at work!"

We looked round and rolled our eyes at Antonio and Lovina as they walked up to the counter with drinks and sweets. Lovina nudged Antonio who pouted at her.

"What?"

"Idiota…"

"So, what have you two come here about?" I asked, watching as they came over to the counter to pay for their sweets. "I hate you for making me count these…" I added, having to count out £3.30 worth of sweets.

"Well, we wanted to buy these sweets," Antonio said, helping me bag them up whilst I scanned their drinks. "But we also wanted to find out when the interview is."

"Neither of us can remember," Lovina said, taking the drinks once I put them in a different bag. She handed me the money and I worked out her change, handing it over and smiling.

"It's-"

"Excuse me, but are you finished because I would like to purchase my Lottery tickets and leave before the end of the day."

Blinking slightly, we all looked round as a woman around the age of 55 pushed pass Antonio and Lovina, shoving the slips she had filled out into my hands and looking at me like she was the most important woman in the world. Refraining from commenting, I put through the tickets, keeping a close look at the total as they went through.

"That's £20 please," I said, putting the tickets on the table with her slips.

"Um, no it is not," the woman replied. "It's £10. I have £10 to come off of one of my tickets."

"But you didn't hand me any tickets," I replied, motioning to the slips and tickets before more. "I'll be happy to take the money off once you've given me the winning slip; if you haven't then you owe me £20 or I cancel your tickets. It's simple enough."

"Yes, but I've got £10 to come off," the woman argued.

"Basta dargli il biglietto maledetto!" snapped Lovina, Antonio putting his arm around her to calm her down as she only spoke fluent Italian around people when she was angry.

The woman rounded on her, looking at her nastily. "Oh, you're one of _those_ people…"

"What do you mean 'one of those people'?" Amelia asked, folding her arms.

"You too?" the woman scoffed. "I'll bet he is too," she motioned to Antonio, "why won't you people learn that we don't want you in our country! Britain is for the British! Not for scum like you to come in and steal our jobs and school places."

I laughed ironically. "If being British means to act like a narrow-minded bigot then you have it down to a tea," I said. "Now would you kindly stop insulting my friends and pay me my money or leave."

The woman scowled at me and gave me a £10 note to which I simply kept on the counter.

"You're £10 short," I said.

"I AM NOT!"

"What is going on now?" Carol asked as she came back to the counter.

"This insolent brat isn't giving me my Lottery and says that I am giving him the wrong money and those stupid immigrants are insulting me," the woman said.

I rolled my eyes and looked to Carol. "I counted twice; she owes me £20 for these tickets but keeps insisting that I have to take £10 off. But she's not given me the ticket she said about to take the money off so I'm not selling her the tickets until I'm given the full amount."

"The lad's got a point," Carol said, looking at the tickets. "It does say £20 so if you don't have the money then I'm afraid we can't sell these to you."

Grabbing her slips, the woman glared as she stormed out of the shop; Carol handing me a pen to start voiding the tickets before going to sort her cards out. I shook my head and started to void the tickets, glancing at my friends every so often.

"Well, as I was saying," I said, starting to put the tickets through the machine to cancel them. "The interview is Monday next week. We have to be in the studio at 9am so they can get us ready for the interview to start at 10am."

Antonio nodded, sipping his drink quickly. "Sounds good to me," he said.

Lovina nibbled on one of her sweets, glancing at me in a way that said she wanted to talk to me. I glanced at the time and saw that it was just after one so called to Carol that I was going to leave now, to which she called back for me to have a nice afternoon.

Walking out of the shop with the others, I stayed back a little with Lovina and glanced at her as Amelia and Antonio carried on ahead.

"What the matter?" I asked.

"I want to film my video later," she replied. "Alone with you… You know what happened so…"

"What about Antonio?" I questioned.

"He'll understand once I've said it," Lovina said, glancing to the Spaniard. "I love him but there are just some things I can't say around him."

"So, do you want me to come to yours…? When…?"

"About 7ish in the woods?" suggested Lovina. "You know where…"

I nodded. "Okay."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

After we parted with Lovina and Antonio, Amelia and I headed back to my house. Mum knew that everyone would be busy on the Easter weekend, so with Scott and Ambre coming down for the holiday to explain about the baby, Mum had ordered Bryn to come home with Ruby, me to bring Amelia, Ryan to bring his girlfriend Rochelle and Aednat to bring her boyfriend Joshua round for dinner.

Needless to say, it was going to be another barbeque beside the pool because of the heat pooling around that day and the fact that (where our house may be huge) the dining room was just not big enough for 12 of us.

Dad's car still wasn't back, meaning that he was most probably fucking around with Ambre and Scott's luggage, trying to get it into the car, or their train was seriously late. Trying to keep my mind clear, I led Amelia through to the back gate once again. She seemed well aware of where we were going though so simply followed my lead and smiled at everyone as we were greeted by them.

Mum was putting out multiple bowls of salad, most likely for Ambre's benefit after the allergy incident the last time she had had something cooked for her at the house; Ryan was in the pool with Rochelle, the girl's hair tied up in her usual long brunette pigtails with red hairbands; Aednat was laying on the decking nearby, her head on Joshua's lap as he ran his fingers through her red hair; and Peter was sat on the swing seat nearby in the shade with his iPad. I assumed he was playing a game or something or whatever it was 12 year old boys did (I mean, when I was 12, I never had an iPad, a laptop or any of the stuff Peter has access to…), but knowing my brother he was probably talking to someone online.

"The barbeque will start when your father, Scott and Ambre show up," Mum said, looking over her shoulder at me as she made sure the salad stuff was covered.

"Obviously," I said, smirking a little at my mother. "As I Dad would let you get anywhere near his precious barbeque."

Everyone laughed at that but I heard movement in the alleyway meaning that my father was about to walk through the gate most likely. Thinking that it was probably a good idea to put some distance between myself and him, I led Amelia to the pool side once more and sat down with her in the sunshine. We all watched as Dad walked through the open gate, a smile on his face that said 'I heard that and revenge is coming'. I shook my head, then tilted it slightly as Scott and Ambre walked into the garden; Scott looking as smug as usual and Ambre actually wearing the pregnant look well. She smiled at us, her hand resting on her rather large bump.

"Bonjour," she smiled, kissing Mum's cheek as she left the salad stuff to greet them.

"Hello, Dear," Mum replied, smiling at her fondly. "Come inside and sit down."

Scott pulled out a comfortable chair for Ambre and made her sit down before going to get her an orange juice and himself a beer.

"Wait," Ambre said. "Aren't we missing people?"

I blinked and sniggered, rubbing my temples and smirking at Dad as he cursed and ran out of the garden.

"Oh, that idiot," Mum muttered, shaking her head. "Yes, Dear, James forgot that he was picking Bryn and Ruby up too…"

Scott barked out a laugh as he sat down, all of us laughing too; Bryn was usually the one to be forgotten around us, but there were so many kids in my family that I wasn't really surprised that someone got forgotten every so often.

"Awww," Ambre chuckled, smoothing her hand over her bump.

"Ambre, I didn't think you were allowed to smuggle things across the border," Ryan called from the water, all of us laughing as Rochelle dunked him under the water for being rude. Luckily, Ambre laughed too.

"It is okay," she smiled, pushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I was 'oping that we would light about zis… I was very nervous about zis…"

"It's true," Scott said, scratching his head slightly. "We're sorry we didn't tell you sooner but… you know how busy it gets with studying and all of the baby prep…"

"I understand, Love," Mum said. "We were surprised at first, but knowing we'll be getting a grandchild in a month is worth it."

Ambre smiled and took Mum's hand, placing on her bump (and judging from Mum's expression, the baby was most likely kicking). "Granddaughter," she said, all of us grinning. "We're 'aving a little girl."

"Oh," Mum said, tearing up a little as she smoothed the bump slightly. "A little girl."

"That's so cute!" Amelia cooed, shoving me slightly as I chuckled. Ambre smiled to her even though they had never met before. "Oh, I'm Amelia."

"Merci, Amelia," Ambre smiled. "I am Ambre."

"Have you thought of a name yet?" Aedant asked, smiling over at them.

"Yeah, we have," Scott grinned, putting his arm around his French girlfriend. "We're calling her Scarlet."

"Oh, that's so pretty," Rochelle smiled, struggling slightly as Ryan squeezed her for holding him under the water.

"Oui," Ambre smiled. "We decided that if it were a girl we would give 'er Scott's initial and if it were a boy 'e would get mine. Zee Doctor told us we would 'ave a girl and zen we 'it the baby books!"

"I think Scarlet is a beautiful name," Mum smiled.

"Who's Scarlet?"

We all looked round as Bryn, Ruby and Dad walked into the garden; Bryn and Ruby looking confused about the conversation but still peeved at our sheepish looking father.

"Ambre and Scott are having a little girl and they've named her Scarlet," Mum said, smiling at the new arrivals brightly. Ruby grinned and gave her congratulations, Bryn heading over and ruffling Scott's hair.

"Awwwww, Scotty's gonna be a Daddy!" he smirked, laughing as Scott tried to push him away.

"I'm still bigger than you Bryn," he warned, smirking back. "I can still give you a beating!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

I shook my head and looked at Amelia apologetically but found she was smiling brightly at the sight before us. I chuckled slightly and kissed her cheek, putting my arm around her as she lent against me. We ignored the coos and jokes that were thrown our way, letting the brush over us like they were nothing.

With a variety of music from _Wave 105 _playing in the background, Dad managed to get the BBQ going after another 10 minute wait, and within in 30 minutes the first burgers and hotdogs were ready for serving. I had been picking on some of the baby tomatoes in the salad after getting some for Ambre to save her having to get out of her seat. Scott was making sure that she relaxed and despite the normal chaos that happened whenever my huge family got together, everything actually seemed happy and calm for once. Even Amelia seemed to be feeling at home, and I guessed that it was because here (despite them all knowing about what happened to her and what she did to herself) she was being treated like a normal person, not like someone on suicide watch.

I couldn't help but let my mind wander away with that thought, thinking about how Amelia's home life compared to mine. I remembered how Francis and Emily had been acting around myself, Amelia, Matthew and Sophia, how they had been closed off and tentative around anything Amelia said. Even when Sophia had talked about what had happened for a moment, they became guarded and defensive. I knew that being at home didn't help Amelia's recovery so knowing that while she was here with my family laughing and joking along with them, with my mother calling her 'dear' and hugging her at random occasions as she did with everyone else… Well, the smile on her face was comparable to the sunshine we had all afternoon.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Everyone had split off for their rooms when it came to about 7pm, and I had finally said goodbye to Amelia and allowed my father to drive her home at 7:30pm. It was still light outside, so as 8pm got closer I glanced out the window at the woods and knew that I would have to grab my camera quickly and hurry out to where Lovina had hinted she would be. Running upstairs, I bumped into Bryn and had to jump around him quickly lest we both end up on the floor.

"Whoa!" Bryn said, shifting slightly and turning to watch me run into my bedroom. "Where's the fire, Arthur?"

"There's something I needed to take a picture of in the woods for my Photography class," I lied, grabbing both my camera for cover. I walked past Bryn and started to head downstairs, sighing as he continued to talk.

"And you couldn't do it earlier on this morning?"

"I had work!" I said, looking back at him as I went to the door. "Look, I'll be okay. I know the woods like the back of my hand after hiding in them when you guys tried to beat me up."

"I wasn't that bad," Bryn argued, shaking his head. "Just don't take too long or Mum will get pissed."

"I know," I said, leaving the house before he could say anymore. It took me all of 5 minutes to find Lovina, spotting her sat on a log beside the drop that led to a large stone tunnel which had the river from the other side of the forest running through it. She looked up at me as I walked over, smiling a little.

"I thought you'd be here sooner," she said, shifting her feet.

"I got cornered by my older brother," I explained, turning on my camera. "Are you ready?"

Lovina nodded and pushed one side of her brown hair behind her ears. "As I'll ever be."

Nodding, I got into a good position and pointed at the camera and started filming. Lovina's eyes flicked to the red light that came on for a split second before waiting the allotted time then spoke.

"My name is Lovina Vargas," she said. "I'm 17 years old and I'm from Italy. But since I was 6 years old I've lived in the UK. I guess that's where my story really begins… when I moved to this country…

"You see, my parents died in a car crash when I was 6 and me and my sister, Feliciana, were sent to live with our Grandpa Romulus. He's a brilliant man, but always pays more attention to my sister. It was always him and Feli cooking or painting or playing music… Even when we were asked to come to this country for the International project… I was always stuck in the background. Everyone loved Feli. Feli was God's gift to the world and I love her with all my heart even if I'm never noticed because of her.

"Feli and Grandpa Rome (our nickname for him) always liked to get my opinion on anything that they made. So basically, I had a lot of food thrown at me. By the time I got to 11 years old and was starting that crucial period of my life (secondary school), I was a size 18 in dress size. Needless to say that P.E was an unenjoyable time…

"The other girls would make fun of me when I got change… They'd poke me when I took my clothes off to put my P.E kit on, make fun of my underwear… One girl took my school shirt and ran around the room with it on her shoulders, using it as a cape because it was so big compared to her shirt…

"I got called every name under the sun… But I never told anyone… I was in the same school as Arthur Kirkland and he was getting picked on too… I hung around with him because he was the only person that seemed to understand how terrifying coming into school was…

"The bullying got so bad that when I was 14… I developed anorexia… I hated myself… I did… The smell of food, any food, would just make me feel so ill… I ate little bits to hide it… but if I could, I would be able to get away with eating nothing… I even, with the little energy I had, managed to work out to lose the weight… Everyone thought it was amazing how much weight I was able to lose… but never asked me how I did it.

"It was only when I got to size 6 at age 15 that my Grandpa finally realised that something was wrong… He caught people taking the piss out of me for being so thin… found me crying… and I finally told him what was going on…

"I was in hospital for a while… Arthur came to visit me a lot…," she paused and smiled at me a bit, "he was so sorry for not seeing it sooner, but I told him it wasn't his fault… He was being beaten up a lot by Ivan and those people… I got to a decent weight, one the Doctor's said I was able to go home with, but I had to be watched over to make sure I kept eating the right things to keep my weight normal.

"I'm now a happy size 10, curves in the right places and with someone who appreciates them. Antonio, who I met during the summer before college, has no idea what happened to me… so he doesn't realise how much I really do appreciate his compliments and gestures around my figure… He makes me remember that I am healthy, I am a normal weight, and that the curves make me what I am.

"No one was punished for what happened. I'd done it to myself so the words and teasing meant nothing. But, despite knowing that they don't feel bad for almost killing me, I feel better about myself because I made it through… Others who had and have my condition don't… and I hope that they are helped after seeing this video…"

I waited a few seconds before stopping recording and helping Lovina to her feet. "I think you're really brave for sharing that," I said, walking out of the woods with her.

"I'm not brave," Lovina said. "I'm just a victim speaking out. You pushed the first domino and the rest are falling."

I chuckled and said bye to her, both of us splitting in the directions of our homes; the same anticipation for this video coursing through us.

_**Notes:**_

**Oh, hey there! Is this an update? I think it is!**

**First things first; recent reviews have been saying about the scenes with Amelia's sucide-note-video and her attempt. I am trying to make this a serious story so research was needed; in that time I found a clip from the movie Cyberbully. They did their own research to have had that aired, so I went along similar lines to make this as realistic as I could. I changed aspects to make it fit this story but I went with their research.**

**Now, let's go through this:**

**~ Scott – Scotland**

**~ Bryn – Wales**

**~ Ryan – Northern Ireland**

**~ Aednat – Republic of Ireland**

**~ Liz (Arthur's Mum) – Britannia**

**~ James (Arthur's Dad) – Celt**

**~ Ambre – Fem!France**

**~ Ruby – New Zealand**

**~ Rochelle – Seychelles**

**~ Joshua – Philippines**

**~ Emily – Native America**

**~ Sophia – Ukraine**

**Also, I want to apologise to anyone who may be reading who suffers/suffered/knows someone suffering from anorexia. I tried to keep as PC as possible, researching and everything make sure this turned out as PC as possible. I hope I haven't offended anyone. **


	12. Knowledge

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_**Knowledge**_

The bus rattled around us as we travelled along the damp streets, Amelia claiming the window seat and looking out as the rain poured down outside. We were finally on our way to the radio station in Southsea – the weather not deterring either of us. We were bundled up in coats with umbrellas, already sniffing slightly as the unseasonably cold weather started to affect us.

The bus was pretty much empty around us as we went along, but that was because it was barely before 7 in the morning. Amelia had made her way to my house fairly early that morning so that we could get on the right bus together; she was nervous about getting the wrong bus as there four routes between our homes – the 20 and the 21 right round the corner from mine, the 39 outside her home, and the 23 right in the middle which would take us right into the centre of Southsea.

I looked around the rest of the bus, Amelia having picked the seats at the very back of the vehicle. There was one elderly couple sat near the front, the woman's head on the man's shoulder; the old man gently wrapping on arm around her and holding her close. I smiled softly, blinking as I heard a pointed cough from the woman in front of me. Amelia and I both looked at her – she looked frail but stern, her face wrinkled but taut with a beaked nose and narrow piercing eyes. She wore a plastic hair cover, like a bandana only transparent and was huddled up in a thin fitting coat. She looked at us nastily – well, me mainly – judging me for watching the couple at the front of the bus but also them for being so openly affectionate in public.

Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention to Amelia and winked at her in a way that said 'let's mess with her'. She giggled and lent in, a grin on her lips as I pressed mine to hers. We were finding it hard to keep a straight face as the woman made an offended noise, pulling back and resting our foreheads together as we stopped outside the local community centre.

"What are you two doing?"

Looking round, we smiled at Lovina as she made her way up to our seats. The woman's eyes widened more so than before as she came and sat next to me, causing me to laugh internally as I imagined that she thought that I was a pimp.

"Nothing really," Amelia grinned, looking round me to our friend. "Just enjoying each other's company."

Lovina glanced at the elderly woman as she turned away from us in annoyance and raised her eyebrows slightly. "I can tell," she said, smiling in a way that I had leant was a way to cover up nerves. I knew that it was because of the video. No one had made any comments to either of us about it; from the content or just the fact that we had snuck off together to film it in secret. It had been nearly a week since it had been uploaded and was proving to be just as popular as mine, actually surpassing that videos view count by a good couple of hundred and as predicted the comments that came in viewed from the truly disgusting to those of hope and comfort.

"Where's Antonio?" I asked, realising that the silence between us had gone on for more time than what was comfortable.

"At home," Lovina replied. "I text him just now and he said he's just getting his shoes on. He's freaking out slightly… His theory test is in a few days and then he'll get his actual driving test… He just doesn't like buses, especially as they pass right past his house. He was nearly hit by a bus one day because it decided that the road was too cliché and the pavement was the best place to go…"

"Well, he won't have to deal with it for much longer, will he?" Amelia smiled. "He's not an idiot as much as you like to call him one so he'll be fine."

"I know," Lovina smiled, running her fingers through her damp brunette hair. She looked at her lap for a moment then up at Amelia. "Do you think he thinks I really think he's an idiot? Because I don't… It's just… easier to be like that than to really open up and make a fool out of myself…"

"I don't know if he thinks you really think it or not," I said carefully, "but trust me when I say that he wouldn't do anything to make a fool out of you…There are some people I can see and think 'how the hell are you two together', but you two just… match."

Amelia nodded. "He treats you like you're made of glass," she smiled. "It's so sweet. I know he loves you more than anything."

"I hope so," Lovina said, rubbing her face. We held on as the bus made a sudden stop, our heart rates rising slightly from the initial shock. "The next stop is Antonio's…"

"There's no need to be nervous," I said, understanding what was possibly going through her head. "If he's seen it, then you're just going to have to talk… There's no point in being scared."

"Seen what?" Amelia asked, looking at us in confusion.

I closed my eyes for a moment and let out a soft, silent sigh. "Load YouTube up on your phone," I said. She looked at me oddly for a moment before doing as she was told, both myself and Lovina watching as she got the channel up on her phone. Amelia put her headphones in and watched the video as it loaded on her screen, her eyes widening a little as the minutes passed.

"Oh, Lovina…" she said, looking up at her friend. "Why didn't you tell me about the video…? Both of you."

"It wasn't my place," I said, shrugging my shoulders a little.

"I wasn't exactly proud of my disorder…" Lovina said, wrapping her arms around herself defensively. "We just filmed it in secret and waited… I couldn't…"

"It's okay," Amelia said, leaning round and putting her hand on Lovina's knee. "I get it, and I'm sure Antonio will too."

"I'll understand what?"

Falling silent, we all looked round as a damp Antonio walked up the aisle of the bus towards us. He looked neither mad nor confused, leading me to believe that he knew exactly what we were talking about.

"Antonio," Lovina started, shifting slightly as he took the seat beside her. But Antonio cut her off."

"I'll understand that you uploaded your story without telling me, that you never spoke a word of it to me or even told me the story itself?" he said, looking at Lovina as she nodded and looked at her lap.

"Mi dispiace tanto," she said. Amelia and I leant back a little, letting them get on with their confessional but Antonio rounded on me.

"And you said nothing about it either but helped her to film and upload," he said. "You knew the story the whole time."

"Not all of it," I countered.

For what it was worth, Antonio did nod his understanding to me. He looked at Lovina and tilted her head up, kissing her softly on the lips. "Querido, I understand how… scared you must have been admitting that… I'm not mad, I'm just… saddened that you didn't trust me… Te quiero mucho… and that will never change. I am happy about what you said at the end though; I will always remind you of how beautiful you are, how your curves make you even sexier. Even now, with your damp hair and sad eyes… Eres perfecto tal como eres."

Feeling Amelia's arms wrap around one of my own, I turned and kissed her head as Lovina broke down against Antonio. We both knew it was happiness making her cry, her defences lowered to the smallest point they could be. We smiled at Antonio as he wrapped his arms around her, embracing her protectively as she cried against him. He looked at us slightly worriedly but I shook my head and smiled more.

"She didn't know if you really loved her," I mouthed. "She trusts you even more now."

Nodding, Antonio kissed the top of her head and held her close, blinking slightly as the old lady muttered something under her breath.

Annoyed, I leant over my seat to her. "Can I help you, madam?" I asked, tilting my head and looking at her un-amusedly as she turned her attention to me in surprise. "I can understand giving myself and my girlfriend disapproving looks because we played up to your frigidness. But I can't comprehend why you would do the same to the lovely couple at the front who are minding their own business or my two friends here. Now, if you do not like public affection then don't look at it or cast aspersions. As valued as your opinion can be, it doesn't mean that you can spread your petty hatred."

Looking at me in a stunned silence, the woman turned away from me and looked out of the window she was sat beside. I sat back in my seat and glanced at Amelia, the girl wearing an amused expression on her face.

"Yes?" I grinned, tilting my head back to relax.

"I have no words," Amelia replied, laughing and shaking her head. "I was not expecting that…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

The people in the radio station were very hospitable to us when we arrived. We had gotten off of the bus at the right stop, but knew that we still had a ten minute walk before got to the studio where the Monday breakfast show was being broadcasted.

By the time we had reached the right building, we all looked as though we had gone for a long swim in the ocean nearby. And from the feel of it, the ocean would have probably been warmer than the rain falling above us.

We hurried inside, our clothes sticking to us and dripping onto the carpeted floor of the reception. The woman behind the counter looked up in surprise, pressing the button on an intercom system and muttering something into it.

"Can I help you?" she asked us. I smiled at her awkwardly.

"We're the group here for the anti-bullying interview with Paul Evans…"

A look of realisation spread across her face and she nodded. "Ah, yes," she smiled. "Well, my name is Alison. If you would like to wait over there, Lara should be down in a moment to escort you to the studio."

"Thank you," Amelia said.

"There's no chance of a hot drink or something to dry us off with is there?" asked Lovina, shivering slightly as the damp started to get to her. Alison nodded and went to get us some towels, handing them to us and allowing us to dry off quickly beside the radiator in the waiting room whilst she went to get someone else to make us some hot chocolate. She came back with a tray with piping hot mugs, smiling as we took them gratefully and sipped the hot liquid. Sighing with relief as the warmth spread through our bodies, we sat ourselves down in the chairs provided and waited. We knew that at this time Lara was probably presenting her segment, but that was every hour for 5 minutes. So, she pretty much had a lot of time to herself during those periods she wasn't presenting; hence why she was able to grade our demos at work and show them to Paul during song breaks.

10 minutes later, with feeling back in our bodies and empty mugs, Lara came into the waiting room and smiled at us all.

"Sorry for leaving you so long, but it's probably warmer in here than in the studio at the moment," she explained. "So, are you all ready for this?"

"I'm a little nervous," Amelia admitted, Lovina nodding her agreement.

"There's really nothing to be worried about," Lara smiled. "As long as you don't swear, or in your case Amelia talk about the trial, then you will be perfectly okay."

Amelia nodded, but the rest of us looked confused for a moment.

"Why can't she talk about the trial?" Antonio asked.

"As it's an on-going trial and she's the key witness, anything she says outside of court to a third party could influence the judgement or be found to be evidence given in vain…" Lara explained.

"But she talked about what happened to her in that first video she posted online," I said, thinking back to the horrible suicide video she had posted. Lara shook her head though.

"That didn't hold key information, that was a confession before the trial which prompted it to go ahead," she said. "As long as she doesn't mention any of that in detail, she'll be fine." Glancing at the watch on her wrist, Lara smiled a bit and motioned for us to follow her. "Come on, you're on in 20 minutes."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Paul Evans was a lanky man with thick black hair on his head and stubble on his chin. He smiled at us with a wide, white grin as we entered the room; motioning for us to take the four seats provided for us as the latest track by Jessie J played in the background.

"Hey," he smiled, reaching over the desk to shake our hands individually. "I'm Paul, and I'm seriously excited to be talking to you four today. After everything that Lara's said about you, all the things I've read from you and saw from your channel. You guys are what I love about youth; you've got a kickass attitude that I wish I still possessed."

We smiled and took our seats after shaking his hand, pleased by his genuine enthusiasm for our cause.

"Thanks," I smiled. "This is Amelia Jones, Lovina Vargas and Antonio Carriedo; and I'm Arthur Kirkland."

"Nice to meet you all," Paul smiled, sitting back in his chair and leaning towards the microphone as the song started to fade out. "Don't go anywhere, folks, because after this next hit – the new release by Train – we will be talking to four incredible teenagers who have been trying to spread the word on a topic that has been a big part of my life; cyber bullying."

4 minutes later, the music faded and Paul spoke into the microphone once more. "Now, here with me at the moment of four teenagers whom I think deserve a public service award for the bravery they have been showing these past few months. Arthur Kirkland, Lovina Vargas, Antonio Carriedo and Amelia Jones are the forerunners of an online campaign to use the bullies weapons against them; and not just cyber bullies either.

"Using YouTube, Tumblr, NoteSpring and many other social networks, these four have started to get victims to share their stories online – each area getting over 4000 followers each day.

"Not just that though – they create follow up videos with comments from the original videos, all of the hateful spite that people post to name and shame them.

"First to share his story was Arthur Kirkland who was victimised by the governing body within his school as well as the boy beating him senselessly. It was put out as a statement by the other three that it was you who came up with the idea for this organisation, how did you think of it?"

I bit my lip a little and lent by the microphone nearest to me. "Well, it wasn't to get payback on what had happened to me… That had happened too many years ago for me to really care about that anymore. It was because of Amelia that I thought of it, honestly. She was new in our class at college, and I felt like at first I was the only one giving her a chance. Lovina and Antonio warmed up to her after a few days, but there was two people who continually gave her grief.

"At first, it was harmless comments. Something I thought that could be dealt with by just me being there for Amy to talk to… But then she got worse. In the classroom there were incidents that were just horrible, then a hate campaign was started online… So many people joined in…"

"I couldn't take all of the hate that was being pushed towards me," Amelia said, putting her hand on mine. "There was something written every day, a new whisper in the corridor and information being passed around like Chinese whispers. It got to the point that… I ended up confessing the honest truth in a video, but at the same time… I said goodbye. I tried to… to kill myself and if Arthur and his brother Ryan hadn't found me in time… I wouldn't be here right now…"

Paul nodded. "That must have been the scariest thing for you both to go through. The harassment and the aftermath."

"The problem with cyber bullying," Antonio said. "Is that with… shall we say, 'regular' bullying; the type everyone expects, you simply think that once you get away from where it's happening that's the end of it until you go there again. But cyber bullying means the bullies can follow you home. You could be sat in a room with your parents but they don't have one connection to you that someone else does; and that's the Internet. You can be seeing two things at once – all the hate and the people who care. But if those that care aren't aware then the hate screams louder and louder… until it's too late."

"Cyber bullying is a virus," Lovina said. "Any type of bullying is a virus. One person can be infected and not realise, whilst another could know exactly what they are doing. But the primary thing is, that once the virus has found a victim it will infect all of the people connected to the original poster until it destroys the victim."

"I understand your point, Lovina," Paul said, smiling. "Lovina recently shared her story on the YouTube channel – one in which she was overweight and people picked on her for that. But then something tragic happened, didn't it Lovina?"

She nodded and held Antonio's hand tightly as he took hold of hers. "I got so depressed that the sight and smell of any food made me feel sick… I stopped eating all together, only taking small bites to cover up my disorder. I managed to even work the weight off but being size 6 at my age was something that alerted my Grandpa… He caught people picking on me for being too thin and I ended up in hospital for a while until I got to a healthier weight."

"And you are certainly very healthy, honey," Paul said, smiling at Lovina in a fatherly manner. "So, what are your plans for this channel?"

"Well, we're trying to make more people aware of the problems with bullying," I explained. "That the victims need more support than what is currently being offered to them."

"We have so many things going on around us which could highlight this problem," Amelia said. "There are like three months until the Olympics and the Paralympics; two events which have extraordinary people involved. Bullying is a big part of that too – so many athletes looking different; the disabilities, some women looking very masculine, some males quite feminine. There are so many stories there for people to say 'I was bullied. I am still bullied. But look at all I can do now!' We want people to tell other victims that it will be okay."

"Also, we want to explain precautions to people," Lovina said. "Like blocking users, informing people. Simple things that can actually save lives."

"I think you're going to save a lot of lives with this project," Paul smiled, glancing at the time. "But sadly that's all we can get through today; all the links to this groups project will be on the breakfast show website, so if you want to share your stories or just get more aware of the situation I plead to you that you go check it out."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

The weather had cleared up when we got out of the building, the rain having finally laid off but leaving dark black clouds up in the sky still – all of which seemed to be threatening to let another shower pour down on us any second.

Without another thought, we made our way to the bus stop that would take us back home and got on the first bus that showed up.

Antonio stayed on the bus with us until we got to the stop outside of Lovina's home. Deciding that we too would get off, knowing that it was only a 2 minute walk from the midway bus stop between our homes, Amelia and I stepped back a little as a flash of red flew past us.

Antonio chuckled slightly, managing to keep Lovina standing in time as Feliciana flung herself at her sister and hugged her tightly.

"Mi dispiace tanto, sorella!" she cried, holding Lovina who looked perplexed for a moment. "I had no idea you felt that way and why all that happened… I am so so so so sorry…! I don't want you to ever be sad about that again, okay?"

"Feli, it's okay," Lovina said, holding her crying sister.

I looked at Amelia and smiled a little, putting my arm around her as she watched the siblings. I could tell she was getting a bit of déjà vu, knowing how much she had hidden from Matthew and how he had started to act around her just after she had… Well, I knew that she wasn't going to hold up much longer watching them so I nodded to Antonio and started to walk Amelia home.

"I want to share my story," she said, looking at the ground as she walked. "Every little detail."

"What about the trial?" I asked, looking at her as we walked.

"It'll be after the trial," Amelia said, glancing up at me. "3 months and he'll either be free or behind bars. Either way, I'm sharing my story. As sick as it is, some people are going through exactly what I did and some don't make it. I want to stop those people making the mistake I nearly did."

_**Notes:**_

**Long delay is long… Sorry guys, I do hope this longer chapter makes up for it though.**

**With college back into swing, I've been trying to figure out how my updating will go and so far I've found Monday's are the best. Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays are short days so they could have updates but Tuesdays are longer so I may not update then.**

**But there you go! They've had the interview, the aftermath of Lovina's tale has arose and Amelia is being a BAMF in wanting her story told soon.**

**Anyway, the next chapter is called 'Denial' so I will let you come up with ideas as to what you think is going to happen. :D**

_**Translations:**_

~ Mi dispiace tanto – I'm so sorry (Italian)

~ Querido – Dear (Spanish)

~ Te quiero mucho – I love you so much (Spanish)

~ Eres perfecto tal como eres – You're perfect just the way you are (Spanish)

~ Mi dispiace tanto, sorella – I'm so sorry, sister (Italian)


	13. Denial

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

_**Denial**_

Going back into college after time off is never easy; though thankfully the feeling of dread was less than anything I had ever felt for school – that was like a mind-numbing torture worthy of a high security prison. I guess it's just human nature to get that knotting pain in your stomach when something different was coming though – like the breaking of a routine. Even if you don't realise it, you are settled into a certain routine and it can be so subtle that you don't realise until something comes along and changes it – then you realise just how focused you had really been.

The buses in the area had messed up once again, though for once I wasn't complaining about it. 'April showers', my mother had said when she had got in from work that morning. She seemed chipper for once; not the usual grimace she normally bore when work was concerned. Though she wouldn't have to work the double shifts of cleaning in the morning and being abused by chav spawn at lunchtime (she was a Lunchtime Supervisor, which is a posh way of saying she's a dinnerlady). She nearly had enough money saved up to open the little café that she had always dreamt of owning once day – coffee, tea, all the cakes you could dream of, you'd find in that little shop. I guess that was why she was so happy that morning; she finally had something else to look forward too – yes, she was happy that Ambre was going to be giving birth soon but that was her and Scott's new life, this would be her own dream becoming reality. But Ambre was going to be a part of this too – Mum had asked her when the café opened (she already put the deposit down on the store site nearby) if she would be a waitress for her. She and Scott were transferring to the university in the city an hour away from us so they would be able to live back near home for help with Scarlet so that we could be there for them. Ambre would work in the café whilst finishing her education, Mum saying that it could be a quiet little place for me to study too but there would be a child's pen for Scarlet and any other kids who came in to play in – me being the main person watching over her whilst Mum and Ambre were busy.

But I digress.

I looked out of the window of the conservatory door, watching as heavy rain poured down outside. Looking to Mum, I gave her an incredulous expression to which she simply laughed and shook her head.

"You know what I mean," she said, hanging her dripping coat up in the conservatory to dry up. "There are puddles streaming down the road."

"The lake or the river have probably overflowed," I said, looking back at the book at the book on my lap. _Angels and Demons _by Dan Brown – a good read if you liked to be mind-fucked. "Getting into college is going to be awful later…"

"You are 17," Mum said, sitting down in her spot on the sofa on the other side of the room. She kicked her damp trainers off and looked at me seriously. "You could have learnt to drive by now like Ryan and Aednat but-"

"-But it's not worth it," I countered. "It's pretty much £70 a lesson, then over £2000 for a decent starter car, then over £1000 for insurance, road tax, plus fuel. I earn £72 a month guaranteed from the shop, plus anything else for extra shifts. Unless you and Dad are willing to help me financially – which you've already said no to – then I see no other option than to put up with public transport."

"When did you become such a dramatic little sod?" Mum asked, rolling her eyes at me. I frowned and looked back at my book, choosing not to rise to her comment. I was far too used to it by now, being the black sheep of my family. "Why don't you get a lift in from Aednat or Ryan?"

"Because they are going in ten minutes and I don't need to be there for another 2 hours," I said, not looking up from my book.

"There's no need to get an attitude with me, Arthur, I was just asking," Mum snapped – I could tell that she was looking at me angrily; the tone of her voice normally depicted the look on her face. "Honestly, with you lately, it's been like talking to a spiteful little bastard with bad attitude. What the hell happened to you? You got to that Senior School and it all went downhill!"

I remained silent, knowing that it would be the lesser of two situations – either way she would yell at me more; if I answered back I'd get yelled at for doing so, if I stayed silent I'd get yelled at for ignoring her. It was a lose-lose situation for me.

"Don't ignore me!" she snapped, getting up and snatching the book from my hands. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, my fingers stinging slightly from the paper cut across them. As I looked up at her, I barely had enough time to hide the hurt in my eyes before I had the book shoved back at me and she stormed out of the room. "Why can't you be more like your brothers?" I heard her say before she went upstairs.

I sat silently for a moment, looking at the book on my lap as Ryan and Aednat came downstairs. They looked into the living room, Aednat coming over to me straight away and sitting on the left arm of the chair. I glanced up at her then back down at my lap, sighing a little only to look back up at her as she ran her fingers through my hair – she used to do that when I was younger and sad; I was surprised she remembered…

"It's okay to be sad when Mum's like that," she said, smiling at me. "God knows she's shouted at me enough times… Like that time I ran away from home."

"Yeah, I remember that," I said, watching as Ryan came and sat on the floor in front of us. "I was 12 and you were 13."

She nodded, still running her fingers through my hair. "She and Dad weren't happy with how I was acting."

"You were a bitch," Ryan smirked, earning a slight smile from me and an eye roll from Aednat.

"Right," she said. "I was… rebellious. As all teenagers tend to be. Ryan's had his moments, Scott definitely did. Bryn wasn't as bad but he was the one with a conscience. Now it's your turn. Peter will have his moments too. It's just…"

"Hard growing up in a family so big…" I said, looking down at my lap once more.

"It's okay, Arthur," Ryan said, looking up at me and smiling. "Just keep it in your head that one day something great's going to happen for you. I mean, all this publicity for your campaign, you're art skills, you can sing if you want to and play how many instruments, Amelia… You've got more talent than Aednat and myself put together."

"Thanks," I said, smiling a little. I glanced at the time as they did, nodding to them as they got up and went to go to the door.

"Keep your chin up," Aednat said, smiling at me before getting her car keys and heading out of the door with Ryan. I closed my eyes and lent my head back as the front door shut, listening to the loud music from Mum's bedroom.

In an instant, I got up from my seat and got my trainers; putting them on and tying the laces before grabbing my coat and backpack. I shoved my book inside and got my house keys, taking one final glance to the stairs before walking out into the rain.

I kept my eyes on the pavement as I walked through the heavy rain, not feeling the coldness that was starting to make its way into my trainers as they went into a particularly deep puddle. The rain was getting heavier, my hair starting to stick to my face as it felt like I was walking through an actual shower. I didn't really know where I was going – I mean, I didn't have to be in college for two more hours, I didn't have work until Saturday… I just couldn't be in that house anymore, knowing that she was upstairs fuming and judging me…

I glanced upwards when I felt the rain ease up slightly, realising that I had walked underneath a bus shelter. It was the one right round the corner from my house so I hadn't really walked that far, but whilst getting lost in my head I felt like I had been walking for a year… I looked round as I saw a bus coming, squinting through the storm and realising that it was the 20 – the bus that travelled to the bottom of college hill. Signally for it to stop, I quickly got my pass out of my bag and stepped onto the vehicle once the doors opened.

"You look like you've gone swimming, lad," the driver said; he was a bulky, burly man with no hair except for a very rock like beard.

"You could say that," I replied, showing him my pass and walking up the practically empty aisle to a seat. I curled up on the seat and looked out of the window as the world passed by me in a damp haze, the rain obscuring most of my vision and the heating system within the bus making the windows steam up. It seemed as though the storm was keeping the usual travellers away, the bus remaining empty as I got closer and closer to the college stop. As we travelled over the hill and around the roundabout, I leant over and pressed the button to get the bus to stop, walking to the front and resigning myself to getting wetter as I had to run up the hill to get to the gates.

Thanking the driver, I ran off of the bus and didn't stop even as the water hit me with the force of a fire engine's hose. It was horrible, truly awful weather, but I kept myself going because I knew that I had to. Though I had no class to go too, it would be nice to find a place to dry off before I did and I was just grateful that I had place to go where my mother wasn't. Hurrying through the main reception, I stomped past all the people that we gathered by the entrance, blocking the way inside. Some people told me to fuck off when I tried to shift past them so I gave them my own choice words and continued inside, through the building until I reached the South East block.

It was basically empty when I got there, only two people sat at either end of the computer row in the main atrium area. But I got a shock when I saw people sat underneath the stairs on the blue circle nearby – Amelia, Matthew, Sophia, Antonio, Lovina, Feliciana and Ludwig. All looked almost as soaked as I did but like they'd been drying off for a while longer. I walked over, looking at them in confusion as they looked up at me with smiles.

"Hey," I said. "What's going on? Why're you all here?"

"Oh, uh… We all came in earlier because of the storm and found each other when we got here," Amelia said, looking up at me.

"And no one thought about texting me or calling me?" I asked. Usually, I wouldn't really care but at that moment I was just feeling a bit tender – it wouldn't be the first time I was left out, but knowing that my girlfriend had done so…

"None of us really thought…" she said.

"Right," I said, turning to walk away from them. I was in one of those moods where everything was starting to upset me. I got to the archway that lead to the classrooms, hearing them all start talking behind me but I couldn't make out the words. But then I felt two small hands grab one of mine so stopped and looked down at Amelia who was looking at me worriedly.

"Where are you going?" she asked, keeping a tight grip on my hand. "We didn't not want you here, Arthur… We just forgot because of everything that's been going on… I'm so sorry… Please… Come back…"

I glanced over at the others, all of them (even Ludwig ever so slightly) looking at me with worried expressions. Looking back at Amelia I saw the concern in her eyes, the fear on her face that I was going to walk away… and I just broke.

I was ashamed of myself for doing so but I just let my head down onto her shoulder and cried against her, feeling her hold me close despite how soaked I was and run her fingers through my wet hair. She hummed to me softly, kissing the side of my head and helping to calm me down.

"Hey now…" she said as I sniffed and stood properly some minutes later. "What's all this about? Has something happened?"

"Come sit and talk," Antonio said; the group shifting and making room for me to sit down with them. I did so, leaning my head on my hand to try and keep myself calm.

"There are just days when I think that my mother must really hate me," I said. "It started when I was 13 or 14… When I decided that I wanted to go down the media route… I'd picked Media BTEC as one of my extended classes but Mum and Dad weren't happy about it. They tried to get the school to change it, but because I said no I got to stay in my class. Mum just… says horrible things about me sometimes. I can be sat quietly and she'll say I'm anti-social. I can be playing piano or guitar or violin or anything and she'll tell me I'm making a racket… The other day she came over to me and pointed everything out that I hated about myself… And today she just ripped into me again…"

"I'm sorry, Arthur," Amelia said, leaning her head on my shoulder and hugging my arm. "You should have called me or text me… I'd have gone to you… or if you needed out you could've come to me…"

"I'm with you now," I said, kissing her head and wiping my eyes. "It's just… hard… Growing up in a large family… I have four older siblings and a younger one…"

"I don't know much about your family," Matthew said, sitting with his arm around Sophia who was watching me with a soft comforting expression on her face. "Why don't we all talk about our families. Ease the burdens and such."

"That sounds like a good idea," Amelia said, smiling up at me. "Want to?"

"Fine with me," I said, smiling a little. "I'll go first shall I?"

The group nodded so I took a deep breath.

"My family consists of myself, my eldest brother Scott, my older brother Bryn, the twins, Ryan and Aednat, and my younger brother Peter," I said. "And all my life, it's been one competition after the next. A fight, music, art, attention… Yeah, we all care for each other and would beat on anyone who tried to do anything to anyone of us, but we fought like you wouldn't believe…

"Scott smokes a lot and has a tendency to binge drink at weekends. He's nearly 21. But he's alright and studies mechanics in a uni in Edinburgh… I can't remember which one… But that's where he met Ambre. She likes a drink too. And I think they got drunk one weekend and forgot protection – now they're moving back to the South to finish their education because Ambre's giving birth to a little girl called Scarlet soon.

"Bryn's nearly 20 and has always found a way to blend into the background during family conflicts. I have to say that I've fought with him a lot less than I have Scott but he was always the one that I would end up fighting with when playing rugby – the man turns into a monster when he plays. He moved to Wales last year to go to university in Cardiff to become a vet. Unlike Scott, when he met his girlfriend Ruby there he didn't knock her up.

"Ryan is the older of the twins. He and Aednat are nearly 19 so they're still studying at this college. Because there's less of an age gap between us, he and I have always been more competitive than argumentative. He studies English, ICT and Sports – he's not told Mum and Dad that he wants to get into Sports Journalism and do commentaries on the TV like Gary Lineker does on Match of the Day. Aednat has always been the most rebellious. When I was 12 she ran away from home and we couldn't find her for 2 days… But she's always been there for me despite the separation Mum and Dad almost created. She's here too, studying Psychology and some other human nature type class so she can be a counsellor.

"Finally, there's Peter. He's an annoying little 13 year old who thinks that the world should be handed to him on a plate… I'll give him his dues though – he does end up trying his damned hardest to do some pretty spectacular things.

"Dad's a teacher at this military base in Borden – he teaches electrics and all that kind of stuff to the Squadies. Mum's currently a cleaner-slash-dinnerlady at the junior school near my house. She hates it though and has been saving up to open a café in town which should be opened soon. So basically, my family tend to do some pretty good things – reasonable things… And then there's me. I picked Media. One of the toughest areas to get a career in. I excel at designing, I can write – hell, I've been writing a fucking novel for the past 3 years that's almost finished – but Mum isn't happy that I'm aiming at these difficult areas… Dad is always that bit more supportive but he's so laid back it doesn't seem like it. That's why I'm so determined with everything – the YouTube channel, college, writing, music – I want to prove to my Mum that I can do this… that she can be proud of me…"

There was a silence that followed my story which was surprisingly comforting. Feliciana smiled at me and nodded her head.

"This is why we all need to talk more," she said, leaning against Ludwig as he gave her a slight squeeze. "I have no idea what it feels like to have such a big family. It's always just been Lovina, Grandpa Rome and me."

"Why don't you or Lovina share next then?" I said, smiling a little as Amelia shifted closer to me.

Lovina nodded and took a deep breath. "When we used to live in Italy, Feli and I lived with our mama and papa – Lisa and Remus. We used to have a lot of fun with our parents – I looked more like papa and Feli looked more like mama. They would take us places and treat us, Papa would play games with us like hide and seek and Mama would tell us the best stories at night. The only grandparent we ever knew though was Romulus, and he's amazing. He had Mama when he was 18 and got left with her when her Mama left her with him. So he was only 38 when we were born. He's 54 now but still the same as he was.

"Though I said ages ago that he always favoured Feli over me. Now I think about it though, that may have been because she looks so much like Mama – his daughter. Though I have her hair and eye colour, my face is structurally like my Papa's. You all already know about the things that happened in this country, but how we got here…

"We'd been accepted into the International Project. It was a great time and we were getting excited. Mama and Papa had been invited to a party in the city – a farewell party by their friends whom they wouldn't be seeing for a long time. They left Feli and I with Grandpa Rome – a little play time for us as we shouldn't have been seeing him for a long time… It was getting late and we were sat watching a cartoon when the phone rang. We had no idea what was going on, but the next thing we knew we were being dressed again and taken out of the house.

"Mama and Papa had been in a car accident on their way home from the party. They hadn't drunk any alcohol, but the moron who ran them off the road had… Their car had flipped and crashed so many times that… that Papa died on impact… Witnesses helped them out of the car, called an ambulance… Mama was alive long enough to say her name and the next of kin phone number… But she died in the ambulance… When they got to the hospital, they were DOA… and Grandpa had to identify them whilst the nurses looked after Feli and I. Grandpa managed to make it so the funeral could happen in England and our parents are buried in the cemetery in town."

During the story, Feli had teared up and was now being comforted by Ludwig – even Lovina had a dampness to her eyes. I glanced at Antonio, the Spaniard nodding and holding his girlfriend close to him.

"Whilst you calm down, I'll share my story, yes?" said Sophia, getting a kiss on the cheek from Matthew for encouragement. "My story is not as sad as yours – just the usual sibling rivalry and such. I have three siblings of which I am the oldest – I have my younger brother Ivan and my younger sister Natalya…" She paused as she got looks, the girl looking down a little. "I decided to go my own way as my siblings were choosing a very bad path… Папа used to be one of the governors at my school… He was a respected man, but tended to bend the rules to help us…

"My brother Ivan was the one who was beating you up, Arthur… and my father was the one that covered it up… Папа is facing an inquiry at work for it as it wasn't the first time he did it… And I'm so sorry…"

"You don't have to apologise," I said. "You didn't push me into the path of a car."

Sophia nodded a little and smiled a little at me so I smiled back reassuringly to prove to her I wasn't angry at her – we can't help who we're related to after all.

"All right, Mattie!" Amelia smiled. "Our turn!"

"You can talk," Matthew said, smirking a little at her. "You usually do anyway."

Amelia rolled her eyes and nudged me as I laughed. "Our story is a pretty simple one really. Mom's from a Native American family. Dad's from France. She was in a pretty bad way having rebelled from her family and they met one rainy night and he gave her a room for the night."

"For all the stick he used to get about being perverted, Dad treated her like an angel Mom said," Matthew smiled. "Mom's Dad found her again and they all worked everything out. Became a tight-knit family once again and Dad was accepted into it. They had us, some family members died and we moved to England happily. And it stayed that way until…"

"Yeah, but you guys know that's getting better now," Amelia said, smiling. I kissed her on the head and held her close. "Ludwig, wanna share next?"

The German boy looked up from Feliciana and blinked slightly, clearing his throat slightly before nodding. "Ja, of course," he said. "Well, for the most part of my life, I grew up with my mother, father and grandfather – Maria, Lukas, and Hans. We were always a very military orientated family – my grandfather having been a soldier and both my parents joining the Special Forces in this country once they were cleared and we'd moved here for this International Project.

"Gilbert didn't like it though. He did everything in his power to rebel against anything military in our home… But he was the most affected when the worst happened. A couple of years ago, our parents were out on tour in the Middle East and were killed by a roadside bomb… Gilbert broke when he heard the news, failing his course in college. But because of the circumstances, the college gave him another chance which is why he is in your course at the moment but he and Grandfather are not on the best terms…

"Hans is a bit of a drill sergeant. I conform as it's easier, and I want to make my parents proud – that's why I'm in the Special Forces course here. But Gilbert is pushing at Hans' last nerve… I try to get him to think of what our parents would want, often going to the graveyard in town to see their graves with him, but it's like there's this big wall separating us… Grief is why he acts the way he does… I know it's no excuse for the abuse he's given Amelia… or any of you… But…"

"We get it, Ludwig," Amelia said, smiling at him kindly. "Just one thing. Hans wasn't a Nazi was he?"

For once Ludwig laughed a little and shook his head – we grinned as it was the first time we'd seen him open up like that. "Nein… Nein, he is the same age Feliciana and Lovina's grandfather."

"And now for you," Lovina said, grinning as she nudged Antonio. The Spaniard nudged her back and grinned.

"Mine's simple," Antonio said. "I live with my Mama Ava, my Papa Santiago, and my younger sister Lina. Mama owns a flower shop which I help out in after I've finished any work needed here, Papa's a swim coach at the rec centre and Lina's transferring into our class because the Chemistry, Maths, and Biology route proved to be the wrong thing."

"Lina," I said, more to myself. "She's transferring here?"

"Si," Antonio said. "She should be by in a bit, the lazy bitch."

"Do you know her?" Amelia asked, looking up at me in confusion.

"Yes!" I grinned. "She and I used to be in the same fencing club. Honestly, you'll like her. She's pretty cool."

"Well, if you're raving about her so much she must be…"

"Hey, don't act like that," I smiled, kissing her head. "She was always just a friend, okay? She's more like a sister to me okay?"

Antonio chuckled. "She has a boyfriend, Amelia. She's just always been a little badass so Arthur and her clicked as friends instantly."

Amelia blushed, looking at me a little awkwardly so I kissed her nose and smiled. "Don't worry so much. I love you."

"I love you too."

"Wow, Arthur, you've turned into such a softy in your old age."

We all looked up as we saw a girl with brown hair and green eyes grinning at us as she lent of the railings. Her hair was cut into a choppy inverted bob, but suited her very well. She sat on the railing and slid down it, landing on the floor and standing behind Amelia who looked up at her in interest.

"Because I've not seen you in months, Lina," I replied, getting up with a grin. She grinned and took my hand in the slapping way she used to, like a sideways-high-five-handshake.

"I was always a bad influence on you," she said. "So, who is this unlucky girl then? She looks way too cool to be with you."

"Oh fuck you, Lina," I said with a roll of my eyes.

"You're right, I do like her," Amelia laughed, getting to her feet and smiling at Lina Carriedo. "I'm Amelia. Amelia Jones."

Lina's eyes widened and she tilted her head. "I heard the stories about you… Sorry about all that."

"It's fine," Amelia smiled. "As long as you didn't send any hate."

"Urgh, hell no," Lina said. "I'm totally your side, Amelia. Fuck all those morons."

Lina sat down with us, chatting away the hours and allowing us to get to know her and giving me a chance to catch up with her. She impressed Amelia at one point by speaking fluent Portuguese, promising to teach her the basics one day. As the time got closer for us to get to our lessons, we started to talk more about the campaign – telling Lina about the facts behind it, the power we wanted to spread, and getting her promise for support.

"Any musical performances you want to hold, I'll be there!" she grinned. "Be heard, be strong, be proud. That's all this is, right?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Welcome aboard, Lina."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

A couple of days passed and as Lina was new to the group at such a late stage in the year, we had volunteered to have her work with us for the remainder of the time here. She was having to spend a lot of time doing catch up work, but she had Antonio at home with her most evenings telling her what to do and helping her with all of the production and designing work that she needed to catch up with.

I had gotten into a fair bit of trouble with my mother when I had gotten home that day, but after she had her rant she came over and gave me a large hug. She apologised for being cranky that morning, so I kissed her cheek and smiled at her.

"It's okay," I said. "I know you get stressed and I don't help sometimes."

Thursday morning came around and I was lying in bed listening to the rain that hadn't stopped since Tuesday morning. I was thankful that I lived in an area where flooding was minimal, but there was always that dread that something horrible was going to happen.

Glancing at the time on the clock on the shelf beside my bed, I sighed as it was only 8am. Peter had come into my room to get a towel from the airing cupboard, effectively waking me up and smirking as he did so. Rolling over, I got my phone from beside my clock and scrolled through the texts until I got to Amelia's thread and opened it up.

_You awake?_

I waited for a bit, smiling as the ringtone sounded.

_Amelia: Yeah… :(_

_Arthur: Why the sad face?_

_Amelia: Kinda locked in my room…_

I blinked as I read and reread the text, even turning my phone to the side so that the screen rotated and I could get a larger font.

_Arthur: What do you mean 'locked in my room'?_

_Amelia: Mom and Dad… They've just snapped. I mean, they keep saying it never happened. I couldn't have happened. And they don't want me involved in all this campaigning because that just makes it real. It's the trial, Arthur… Now that I've given evidence it's hit home that it really happened… Help me, please…_

_Arthur: I'll be round as soon as I can._

Getting out of bed, I ran to the bathroom and had a quick shower earning shouts from Ryan as he needed to get in there too. I brushed my teeth before running back to my bedroom and dressing, sticking my comb in my bag as there was no point drying my hair when it would be getting wet again in a moment anyway. Making sure I had everything just in case I went straight from Amie's to college, I ran downstairs – jumping the bottom four steps – and went to the conservatory where Mum was sat drinking a cup of tea.

"I'm going to Amelia's for a bit," I said.

"Huh?" she asked, looking up at me.

"She's upset and needs cheering up," I half-lied. "I'll see you later okay?"

"Okay," Mum smiled. "Oh! It won't be until later. Scott and Ambre are moving into their new house today and Dad and I helping them. Peter too. Ryan and Aednat might be helping too but there's no need to rush about – I know you finish late today."

"Thanks, Mum," I smiled. "I'll get a take-away for us all then?"

"Sounds great to me."

Kissing her cheek, I hurried out of the room and to the front door where I almost crashed into Aednat. She yelped slightly, but I managed to stop before we collided; my sister giving me an glare.

"What's the rush?" she asked. "You could have killed me!"

"Don't be so over dramatic," I said. "Could you give me a lift to Amelia's please?"

"Only because I'm heading that way," she said, giving me a smile that said she'd have given me a lift anyway.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Knocking on the front door, I started to get impatient as I realised that I was being ignored. The rain was pouring down still, soaking me as I stood and waited. Shaking my head, I crouched down and opened the letter box.

"Amelia? Emily? Francis? Matthew?" I called through. "Please, open the door. I know you're in there… Please, we need to talk…"

Standing up as I saw movement, I stood firmly as the door opened and Francis looked at me.

"You are very persistent, boy," he said, begrudgingly letting me inside. I took my coat off and hung it up as Emily looked out of the kitchen with a slight smile.

"You could say that yes," I said.

"Amie's sick," Francis said in an instant. "So-"

"She just text me to come round," I said, shaking my head. "I know she's in her room and she just wants to talk to you."

"And why do you need to be here for that?" Emily asked defensively.

"Because sometimes we all need a little comfort when saying and hearing something they don't like," I said. Francis' eyes narrowed, his expression guarded.

"And what do you mean by that?" he asked.

"He means you need to stop and listen to me for once…"

All of us turned and looked around to the top of the stairs, seeing Amelia stood near the top looking down at us nervously. She walked down and stood next to me, looking up at her father openly.

"I know you and Mom hate to think that… that what happened at the other college actually happened, but it did," she said, holding onto my hand tightly as I took hers for comfort. "And bubble wrapping me, telling me to hide away… That's not going to make this go away. I'm trying to make the best of what's happened, to do good and try and bring hope to others – because other people have gone through or are going through the same as me right now. I just want my parents back… You'll help me more by just… being normal… Please?"

I could see the tears leaking from Emily's eyes, stepping aside so that the dark haired woman could go over and hug her daughter tightly.

"I'm so sorry…" she muttered into Amelia's hair, crying. "I'm so, so sorry…"

Francis wrapped his arms around both of them carefully, holding them close as he glanced at me and nodded.

Smiling, I sat back on the stairs and waited.

At least one family was growing from this.

_**Notes:**_

**I just got inspired for this chapter and the words kept coming! I am pretty pleased with a chapter for once – though it was long, I finally got to get everyone's stories out there.**

**So, I guess it was a little obvious but Lina is my version of Portugal. We needed a good badass in this story and I watched Lemonade Mouth the other day and the character Stella (though she's half Asian) just screamed out at me as the kind of character Lina would be. (I hope you see what I did with her quote now xD)**

**The next chapter should be dramatic but sweet at the same time; it's called Wind which doesn't really give away much of what's going to happen but there you go.**

**Thank you all for the support I've been receiving for this story and to those of you who have shared your stories with me. You're all amazing and I love you all :] So, I'll see you next chapter!**


	14. Wind

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

_**Wind**_

For this part, I think it would be for the best if we started from the very beginning. As in the first scream of my alarm clock that day.

The sudden harsh noise started me from my sleep, the screeching clock on the shelf beside my bed rattling against the wood. 6am was still way too early and I was very much unused to the early starting routine despite it being almost a year since I had started. Groaning, I rolled over and tried to hide in the dark of pillow, pulling the ends up and holding them against my ears in an attempt to muffle the sounds. I had already broken the snooze button on it after knocking it off of my shelf so that meant that I had to scramble around to find the off switch.

Being half asleep, I really had very little patience for that so just allowed the alarm to continue screaming. However, all my attempts to try and hide from the noise were in vane as straight after the 5th series of screeches a jingle played from my iPod before the sounds of Linkin Park came from the speakers of the dock.

The music wasn't so bad – I'd heard the band's music before because Peter was so obsessed with those Transformers movies. I never usually enjoy American movies but even I had to admit they were pretty good films (though the Harry Potter series would always be my favourites). However, Amelia had told me the name of the band when I asked her if she'd ever heard the song before.

"Arthur!"

"AH!" I yelled, rolling over to check for the source of the shout. Unfortunately for my retinas, I turned over just as the ceiling lamp hanging above me was turned on. "Shit…"

"Language!" I opened my eyes painfully again and looked over at the bedroom door to see my mother stood ready for work – her final day as the café opened Friday (during my 2 hour break so I could be there for Mum). "How do you even have hearing with that racket usually blaring in your ears?"

"Because I'm used to it," I retorted, in a poor mood thanks to the rude wake up call. "I may not have sight now though…"

"Don't get an attitude with me," Mum scolded. "If you're tired then you should have got an earlier night!"

"I went to bed at 9!" I said, sitting up so that I could look at Mum properly and defensively. "I was dozing off when you and Dad came upstairs way too happily…"

Internally I smirked at the blush that dusted across Mum's cheeks – though I was 17 and approaching my 18th birthday she still thought of me as a child thanks to being the second youngest, so it startled her when I implied things 'I really shouldn't know at my age' – though I kept my exterior expression purely neutral.

"Just go have your shower," she said, walking away from my door to go downstairs. "I'm going to work… I'll be home before you leave…"

I watched her go and sighed a little as I hauled myself out of bed. Once the music was turned down, I could tell in an instant just why Mum sounded so reluctant to go outside – rain was pouring down heavily from the thick black clouds. It wasn't as dark outside as it usually was during the winter but there was certainly a dullness to the colours, like the rain was washing them away and saturating the world. On the news the night before, the eccentric weather presenter had warned us that we'd be receiving 3 months' worth of rain over the next few days and Mother Nature seemed to want to prove him right.

This made me slightly less enthusiastic about my shower, but I had it anyway – I didn't like smelling bad or feeling greasy…

Turning the water off once I was done, I wrapped a towel around my waist and stepped out onto the towel I had left on the floor. Mum had started to complain about how the tiles on the bathroom floor were always damp so had started to make us all use the smallest towel we had to trying and keep the floor as dry as possible.

I hadn't had my breakfast yet so brushing my teeth was a stupid idea meaning that I had to trying and warm myself up whilst drying off. I could actually feel the goose bumps forming on my arms and legs, the water clinging to the hair on my body cooling down and making the hair stand on end. Quickly I started to drying off the areas of my body that were starting to get too affected by the cold, keeping the towel around my waist as I went back to my bedroom.

I blushed a little when Aednat left her room and looked at me before looking away and shaking her head, heading into my bedroom and shutting the door.

"I keep forgetting you're not 10 years old anymore," she said through my door.

"Everyone usually does," I replied, taking the towel away from my waist to dry my hair now. I turned my music back up a little whilst I was getting ready glad the device was on shuffle – The Beatles had started to play so I was happily singing along to _Help!_

Pulling on some jeans and a t-shirt, I riffled through my winter clothes and picked out a decent jumper to put on over the top of it. I knew that with the weather as it was the air would have chilled but it was the summer term… I was prepared for anything.

Having sorted my bag out the night before, I went downstairs to get my lunch and looked out of the windows. It was a horrible sight, all that rain and more of it predicted to come. But something in the pit of my stomach was saying that something else was coming that would make it all okay in the end. I couldn't put my finger on what it was though.

My phone rang at that moment, drawing me from my thoughts in just enough time to see my Dad walk downstairs grumpily. He was muttering to himself, fiddling with the lanyard around his neck and trying to make it sit right with the collar of his shirt. He glanced over at me and smiled a little so I smiled back and nodded to him.

"You okay there, Dad?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Arthur," he replied. "You're phone's ringing."

Nodding a little, I got the device from the pocket of my jeans and looked at the caller ID – Amelia. With a smile, I walked out of the kitchen to leave my Dad in peace and went to the living room to answer the call.

"Hello, Amie," I smiled, flopping down onto the sofa.

"Hey, Arthur!" chirped Amelia happily; I could just about make out the smile in her voice and that just made me smile even more. "Are you up? I didn't wake you up did I?"

"No, no, I'm up," I replied, shaking my head though I knew she couldn't see it. "What's the matter? You've not all met up without me again, have you?"

"Nooooooo!" she said, a nervous tone entering ringing through. I could imagine the pout on her face when I chuckled making more laughter escape from me. "You're a jerk sometimes."

"And you're a child so we're even," I joked. "What's going on?"

"Well, it is about meeting up actually," she said. "Letisha sent out and email and so did Mike. They've had to call an emergency staff meeting because one of them taken into hospital ill last night. Apparently it was pretty bad so they have to figure out who's taking their classes now…"

"Shit…" I said, putting my hand on my forehead. "Did it say who? I didn't check my emails this morning…"

"Kieran Reed?"

"Oooooh…" I said. "Fuck, he's that young films teacher… Jesus… What happened to him?"

"They didn't say," Amelia replied. "It's scary though, huh? I mean, he's like what? 28? 27? You don't expect people like that to just drop…"

"I'm sure he'll be okay," I said, trying to cheer her up. "He's a strong guy. But what has this got to do with meeting up?"

"Well, the day's been cancelled so we can get on with catching up on work," Amelia grinned. "And because you and I have no work to catch up on, we can hang out with the others for a little at my house and plan more stuff for the channel but also like 3-ish? When they leave… You could… stay? At least until my Dad kicks you out but we could hang out alone?"

"I think that sounds like a pretty good day," I smiled, getting up. "Would you like me to come round now?"

"Yeah," Amelia said; a grin in her tone. "I'll text the others to get them round. I mean, for a time we can help Lina with the last bits she has to do. She caught up so fast!"

"Well, Antonio's not an idiot as much as Lovina calls him one," I laughed. "And Lina's not as stupid as she acts."

"Hurry up and get here before the storm gets worse," Amelia said, laughing. I shook my head and chuckled too, smiling fondly.

"I'll be round as soon as I can," I said, looking round as I heard footsteps hurry down the stairs. Aednat had come downstairs with a smug smile on her face; curiosity was starting to take over me for a moment so I said 'see you in a minute' to Amelia then hung up. Heading into the kitchen, I looked at my older sister interestedly; Aednat looked back at me and giggled slightly.

"Ryan's still asleep," she said. "He's got class in an hour and Mum gets back in 45 minutes. He's fucked."

Sniggering, I looked round at Peter as he walked over to us – he seemed to know what was going on too, an equally mischievous expression on his face. "I'm not waking him."

"Neither am I," said Peter.

"And nor am I," Aednat smirked. "Prick kept on saying how staying up late doesn't affect him in the mornings so he can prove it himself. I have my first exam this morning anyway so I don't need the hassle. Oh, Arthur I'm heading out earlier this morning so if you could tell Mum-"

"Actually, you wouldn't happen to be able to drop me off at Amelia's could you?" I asked, cutting her off slightly. She looked at me confusedly though. "My classes were cancelled today because one of the teachers has gone into hospital suddenly… So we're spending the day catching Lina up on her work and stuff for the campaign."

"I'll let Mum know what's going on," Peter said, smiling at us. "Anything to get the TV to myself before school."

Laughing, Aednat and I shook our heads and went to get out jackets and put our shoes on – both knowing that this country could throw any kind of weather at you in any season; I remembered the year that it snowed in March. I was still in school at that point so making my way in when the Head Teacher refused to close the school was fun… until I was nearly hit by a coach that skidded off of the road and Dad banned me from going outside.

Peter followed us into the room and flopped down onto the sofa, grabbing hold of the remote and changing from _Daybreak_ to Disney XD to watch the cartoon version of Spiderman. It was going to haunt me, Marvel was, thanks to Amelia and Peter's obsessions with the comic book superheroes. I put my jacket on after Aednat threw it to me from the backroom, grabbing my backpack just because it had everything that I could need in it. We said our goodbyes to Peter and headed out the front door, walking across the sopping wet grass to her car – getting inside fairly quickly as even through her boots and my trainers our socks and feet were getting soaked from the horrible weather outside.

The journey to Amelia's house was horrible – not for Aednat's company or the music that played through the radio station she had on but for the way drivers conducted themselves on the road. Aednat had always been a very good driver, she was better than Scott, Bryn and Ryan having scored as high as you can on the theory and the practical both in one try (they took at least 12 tries between them). She was always a careful driver too – cautious on turns, diligent observations of people crossing the road or other drivers. She was like that again that morning, but other drivers weren't as great as she was – we were nearly ran off the road by angry, beat-red men and woman screaming at their kids and at us 5 times…

Fairly nervous about leaving her alone to continue to the more traffic ridden sections, I got out of the car outside Amelia's house and watched her drive off before hurrying to the front door and knocking. I was bouncing on the balls of my feet waiting for Amelia to open the door, starting to shake as the damp started to seep through my clothes onto my skin and chill me through to the bone. Smiling as the door opened, I stepped forwards as Amelia grinned at me and kissed her on the cheek.

"Urgh, gross!" she complained, wiping her cheek to get rid of the damp that had passed from my soaked skin to hers. I laughed and shook my head as I stepped into her house, watching her shut the door behind me and run to get me a towel. Chuckling a little, I took the towel from her hands once she had returned and started to dry myself off once she had taken my coat away to hang up over one of the radiators in her home. I took my shoes and socks off and put them underneath the same radiator – just out of the way so that the drips from my coat wouldn't keep them continually damp and followed Amelia into the living room.

"Change of plans," she said to me. "Antonio's staying at home with Lina because her boyfriend broke up with her, Lovina and Feliciana have gone out to do some retail therapy after how shit this week has been and Matthew has gone to the cinema with Sophia to see _Dark Shadows_. So, it's just you and me."

"That's sounds a lot better," I smiled, though it took me a moment to pick up the part about Lina. "Wait… Lina's boyfriend dumped her? Who was she dating?"

"She came onto the phone after Antonio and explained," Amelia said. "She was dating some Danish guy called Mathias. She's a bit bummed about it but they ended on pretty good terms. They were both a bit bored with the relationship and Mathias had started to take a shine to a Norwegian girl. So he broke it off with her mutually."

"Oh," I said, surprised. "I know Mathias; he's definitely the type of guy Lina would go for but yeah… I don't see them having that much in common…"

"Well, now she has the chance to find someone she really connects with," Amelia smiled, moving closer to me. "My parents have gone on a trip for the next few days just to have a weekend away so it's just Matthew and I here. Well, just me at the moment and for the rest of the night… He's staying at Sophia's house…"

"What are you trying to say?" I asked, smiling at her softly and teasingly as I stroked her cheek gently. She blushed and looked up at me, smiling a little.

"The heating is on fairly high so if you wanted to take those damp clothes off then you can…" she said, blushing brighter. I chuckled and kissed the top of her head, stepping back a little and taking off my damp shirt and jeans to put them with the rest of my stuff to dry off leaving me in nothing but my boxers. I grinned at the blush that formed on Amelia's face when I walked back over to her, putting my hands on her arms and tilting my head a little.

"Why are you blushing, Love?" I asked, grinning brazenly. "I'm the one half naked."

"You don't seem that bashful though," Amelia responded, looking up across my torso and to my face. "Although, I can see why… You're not the most… buff of guys but you've definitely got a body to be proud of."

I laughed a little and wrapped my arms around her. "Yeah, I gave my sister a shock coming out of the bathroom this morning. She said she keeps forgetting that I'm not a little kid anymore."

"I'd be worried for the little kid if they had a body like yours," Amelia said. "It's far to grown up to be a kid's." She put her hands on my chest and moved closer to me, her hands slowly moving up over my shoulders so that her arms could wrap around my neck. Grinning softly, I shifted my arms around her waist and pulled her against me – watching the adorable blush increase on her cheeks. "We should really sit down."

"If you want," I said, lifting her up and carrying her to the sofa. She let out a squeak of indignation but resigned to pouting at me as I sat down on the seat with her on my lap. With a kiss on the cheek, then one to the jaw, then another to her neck, Amelia's eyes slowly closed and she tilted her head to the side with a content expression easing onto her features. I smiled as I continued to kiss her neck, listening as her breathing deepened and small encouraging noises escaped from her lips. Pulling back slightly as she turned her head to look me in the eyes, I smiled softly and welcomed her lips as she came forwards to meet mine. One of my hands made its way up and threaded into her wavy blonde hair, the other holding her waist to pull her closer as her arms wrapped around my neck. Kisses blended one into another, each getting a little more intense than the last – I could feel my body wanting to shift to lay her down on the sofa and press against her but I restrained myself for her sake, not wanting to push her too fast.

When the need for air became too great, we pulled apart and breathed in deeply – both chuckling at each other's flushed faces and closeness. I loved her - that was very much apparent to me now. It wasn't just another crush – I'd had plenty of those that had ended poorly – this was so much more than that. I felt different, stronger, like since I'd found her I had grown up much faster. She made everything seem better – though she had been so broken when we had met she had managed to get through Hell and straight to me as intact as she could to allow me to build the pieces that were missing.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

The sky had been fairly dark, but a tint had happened that made us more than aware that the hours were ticking away quickly. I'd been at her house all day – the time now being 4pm. I knew that I would have to go home soon but just couldn't be bothered. I was laying alongside Amelia on the sofa, my index finger tracing patterns on her lithe waist. She giggled and kissed my nose, grinning as I wriggled it.

The storm hadn't let up; in fact it had only succeeded in getting worse progressively throughout the day. But we didn't let the weather dampen our spirits, letting the radio play us all the mainstream songs that Amelia loved.

Blinking slightly, we both looked around as my phone started to ring; Amelia shifting to the side so that I could get up and retrieve it from my bag.

…_**Mum calling…**_

Answering the call, I held the phone to my ear as I looked at Amelia with obvious confusion.

"Mum?" I asked.

"Arthur!" she said, her voice mixed with a tone of worry and anticipation. "Ambre's gone into labour!"

"What?!" I said, grinning at the news. "Oh wow!"

"Yeah! You're father and I are on our way to the hospital now with Peter. Scott just called us and told us that they were on their way to the hospital in the ambulance. Aednat and Ryan are aware and are going to head there after their classes finish," she said. "We've let Bryn and Ruby know too but they can't make it from Wales in such short notice."

"So you left me till last?" I asked jokingly. Mum laughed, for once realising that I was joking. "I'll make my way to hospital as soon as I can, okay?"

"See you soon, Hun."

Hanging up the line and putting my phone down, I smiled at Amelia's confused expression. "Ambre's gone into labour," I explained. "I have to go now to get to the hospital."

"Oh," Amelia said, smiling. "That's brilliant! Can I come too? I want to see Scarlet!"

"Of course," I said. "I'll probably need the company."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

After dressing fast and taking a quick run through the streets – getting absolutely soaked in the process – we managed to get to the right bus stop past my old school to get the 20 bus. I knew that it stopped right outside the hospital Ambre was being admitted to and we managed to get there just as the bus was driving up to the stop.

We spent an hour on the bus letting the heating warm us up and dry us off as the storm grew worse around us, the rain splashing against the side of the bus in great bursts whilst the sky grew darker still…

As we got to the hospital, we ran off of the bus and straight through the front doors – shaking our heads to get rid of the excess water.

"Where's the maternity ward?" Amelia asked, looking at the map that had been posted to the wall nearby us. "Floor 3. That seems a bit risky doesn't it? Having births 3 floors up? What happens if a baby can't wait? Do they have to drag them up 3 floors giving birth?"

"Let's not think about that now," I replied, leading her in the direction we needed to go in. We walked through the corridors until we found an elevator, Amelia pressing the up button and stepping inside with me before pressing the button for the 3rd floor. It took just under a minute to get to the floor which was lucky as it took us a further 5 to find the right corridor to go down. Finally we spotted my father's bright red hair at the end of a corridor and headed in that direction to find the maternity ward waiting room – a very child friendly environment with ocean scenes painted around the room on the walls depicting friendly smiling sea creatures and boats.

"Arthur!" Mum said, getting up from her seat to come over and hug me. "Oh, we were so worried about you getting here in this weather… And, Amelia, what a surprise!"

"Hi, Mrs Kirkland," Amelia smiled, hugging her back when she moved over to her. "I was home alone so Arthur let me tag along so I had company."

"Oh, Sweetheart," Mum said, smiling at her. "You could have come along anyway."

"Thank you," Amelia replied, moving to take a seat.

"We're going to go get some drinks from the café area," she said, walking away with Dad. I chuckled and shook my head, jumping and looking towards the window as a flash of lightning happened at the same time as a bang of thunder.

"Wow," I said, glancing to Amelia to see her curled up in her seat. "Amie?" Hurrying over to her, I knelt down in front of her and tried to get into her line of sight but she had her eyes shut tight and her hands over her ears. Putting my hand on her leg gently, she looked down at me with tear dotted eyes – it was such a surprising sight, I had never realised that she was so afraid of storms. She squeaked and hid again when the simultaneous blasts happened again so I carefully sat down and shifted her onto my lap, holding her close and rocking her slightly to try and keep her calm. "It's okay, it's okay…"

"I h-hate s-storms…" she choked, clinging onto me and hiding her face against my neck.

"Is this why you didn't want to be left alone at home?" I asked, kissing the top of her head. I felt her nod, so closed my eyes and rested my head on top of hers. "It's all okay, we're safe."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

9pm.

That was when Scott came out of Ambre's room with the most awestruck smiled I had ever seen on his face before – Aednat, Ryan and Peter grinned at him with Amelia and I, Mum and Dad getting up from their seats.

"She's… Come and see her," Scott said, motioning for us all to follow him into the room. With smiles on our faces, we all got up from our seats and followed him into the ward.

Ambre was sat up in the bed, looking exhausted but happier than I had ever seen her before. She smiled at us as we flocked around her bed, making a silent "shh" motion as Scarlet was asleep in her arms.

I smiled softly at the sight of my niece; she was the tiniest little dot that I had ever seen before. Even Peter hadn't been that small – though I was only young myself so my size wasn't much compared with him. She was so dainty and looked like a little doll in Ambre's arms, seemingly smaller because of the baby clothes and blanket wrapped around her. Her tiny hands were curled around the fluffy pink fabric of the blanket and her eyes were closed as she slept through the storm; her little pink lips were curled in a faint smile and her head was covered with a small amount of bright red hair.

"She's so beautiful," Mum smiled, sitting the other side of the bed to see her.

"Well done, Sweetheart," Dad said, kissing Ambre's cheek and clapping Scott on the shoulder. Scott looked up at Dad with the same grin on his face – it was a nice change to see Scott so overwhelmed by something; and for the first time I really thought that he would be great at being a dad.

"Merci," Ambre said, chuckling softly. "She put me through quite a bit but she is definitely worth it."

"All babies are," Mum smiled. "Where are your parents?"

"In France," she replied, looking down. "They're not, uh… they're not as supportive of this as you are…"

"It's okay, Sweetheart, you've got all of us," Mum smiled, putting her hand on her arm. "Everything will be okay."

Ambre nodded, looking at Scott as he kissed her cheek. "I've always felt more welcome with your family than mine… The allergic reaction shook me but…"

"We understand," Dad chuckled. Ambre smiled at Scott then up at Dad and looked around at us all.

"Arthur, would you like to hold her first?" she asked, taking me by surprise. She chuckled at my startled expression and smiled. "You're our designated baby sitter, it seems only fair you hold your niece first."

"S-sure," I smiled, chuckling nervously as I moved round to carefully pick Scarlet up out of Ambre's arms.

"Drop her and I drop you," Scott grinned.

"I wouldn't even dream of it," I replied, carefully holding Scarlet close as she wriggled slightly to get adjusted to the new position in her sleep. I smiled softly at the tiny sleeping girl in my arms, simply amazed by the sheer perfection of her little dimples and soft redness to her round cheeks. Pressing a light kiss to her forehead, I grinned at them all – everyone, even Amelia, ignoring the storm outside as we had found our little beam of sunshine in the form of baby Scarlet Kirkland.

_**Notes:**_

**And another chapter is done! I hope you are all still enjoying this series. An anon on Tumblr decided to try and slate it and degrade my writing but that's what trolls do, isn't it.**

**So, let's go through some little details:**

**Lina is my version of Portugal. Mathias is obviously Denmark and I have my unnamed Fem!Norway. If you look at the Foreign Relations to Portugal list online Denmark is actually on there so there's my logic for that relationship. She's going to have a new relationship soon and I think I've picked a good character from that list to be the new guy for her so we'll see if you guys agree soon.**

**The name for Ambre and Scott's daughter came to me whilst looking at Hurr-Hurr's artwork of Fem!Scotland. So there's my logic there.**

**Anyways, I hope you continue to follow the series and review and such :D**

**I love you all!**


	15. Order

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

_**Order**_

One of the things that I never told my friends was that I was an avid writer. I know that I have mentioned before about the many stories that I have worked on, the plots and twists that have even made my own mind boggle sometimes – but in this instance I meant the many lyrics that I had written. Songs and music from different periods of my life conveying the emotions I had been feeling at the time.

I lied in those songs too. I created lyrics of an older man, one who had more friends than I and had the time to go out and be with them.

Well, those lyrics were finally starting to apply to me – my phone going off at random hours of the day with comments from my growing number of friends all with ideas of what we could do that day for the campaign and just hanging out like normal teenagers.

Monday night, the day before we had been told we'd be getting our grades back for the radio demos, I was sat on my bed – my laptop on the desk beside me uploading a story filmed by Tino, a small Finnish boy who had been attending the counselling sessions before Amelia had started them; my plain notebook in front of me filled with doodles and sketches of how I wanted my current project in the Graphics unit to look; and behind me was the folder full of old lyrics.

Scratching my head, I put down the pencil in my hand and looked behind me at the lyrics book – a fond smile forming on my face. There was always some form of nostalgia when I looked into that book, especially looking back at those older songs. I had been writing more lyrics recently, simple little songs about how I was feeling or the things I saw around me. I couldn't think of titles easily but the words and notes themselves came to me so simply. Picking up the folder, I opened it and started to flick through the many wallets that had accumulated there; trying to find the most recent song that I had been working on.

"My best friend gave me the best advice," I sang quietly. "He said each day's a gift and not a given right. Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind and try to take the path less travelled by; that first step you take is the longest stride…"

I sighed, shaking my head. That's as far as I had gotten with that song. The music flowed alright when I originally started playing, but those first lyrics were all that seemed able to come out. I had a problem with leaving songs unfinished, but that felt almost ironic in a way because mine was still continuing so why would I want it to end?

With a large sigh, I put the folder away and closed my notebook, flopping back against my bed to stare at the ceiling. There was a song inside me just waiting to come out and be finished, but it hadn't even started as far as I was aware. My fingers drummed against my duvet, playing a silent tune on an invisible piano; I could feel the song, right there – so very close – but there was nothing. Something was missing.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

When I opened my eyes on Tuesday morning, awoken begrudgingly by the scrambling feet of my siblings all rushing to get into the bathroom. I glanced at my clock and groaned as I saw that it was only 6:15 in the morning, rubbing my face and sitting up in the horrible realisation that I wasn't going to get any more sleep. Having a later start on my timetable was all well and good, but in a family as large and skilled at time keeping as mine, getting the time to sleep in is thin and few.

Hauling myself out of bed, I sat with my feet on the floor and my head in my hands for a moment – ruffling my fingers through my already messy hair before standing up and stretching as a large yawn built inside me. I walked over to my bedroom door and opened it to look outside, opening it further so that I could continue to watch by not get my head chopped off as Aednat rushed past wrapped in a towel.

"Seriously, you should learn to dress yourself," I joked. "You're not a little girl anymore, you can't go running around the house nude."

"Bite me, Arthur," she called back at me, shutting her bedroom door. I looked at Ryan as he walked past me with a towel slung over his shoulder, then looked away when I realised that was all the idiot had on. "Oh my God, Ryan, seriously! Put some fucking clothes on!"

"I'm getting in the shower," he said, walking into the bathroom across the hall and grinning over his shoulder at me. "It'd be a bit stupid because I'd get them wet."

Rolling my eyes, I stepped out of my bedroom and headed downstairs. Mum always had the habit of making everyone breakfast when she made it for herself in the mornings – but the only person she made breakfast for this morning was Peter. It was understandable as he was the youngest but still annoying when you're half asleep and not meant to be awake at that hour.

"Did I hear you say the 'F' word just now, Arthur?" Mum said, glancing around at me as she sat on the sofa watching _Daybreak _and nibbling on some heavily Marmite-d toast. I was stood in the doorway of the kitchen at this point, having hoped I'd get inside and past Mum before she called me out on that – apparently I wasn't quick enough.

"Of course not," I lied simply, shaking my head. "I wouldn't do that to you, Mum. You and your poor frail heart."

"You are a little brown nose sometimes, aren't you?" she said, smiling a little.

"Only to you," I replied, kissing her head before walking into the kitchen and rummaging through the cupboards. They were practically empty, only a couple of slices of bread left in the bread bin. "Are you going shopping later, Mum?"

"I am. Why, did you want something specific?" she replied.

"Yeah, something for breakfast," I said to her, looking into the living room. "There's like nothing in here…"

"There's bread," she said, shaking her head. "Or cereal. There'll be more in there later."

"Yeah, when I won't be here," I said, going into the kitchen and getting the last two slices of bread. To be fairly honest, Aednat and Ryan both had jobs and had saved up enough money to be able to buy a breakfast at the college so the guilt I felt about taking those last two slices was very minimal. I stuck them in the toaster and set it to how I liked before walking back into the living room. "So, what's going on in the world today?"

"Well, you know that Pippa Middleton was photographed in a car with a guy pointing a gun at a paparazzi photographer in France?" said Mum, looking at me as I flopped onto the sofa beside her.

"Yeah, I heard about that, pretty dumb thing to do…"

"Well, he's said sorry."

I couldn't help but laugh at how stupid it sounded, getting up again when I heard the toaster pop. "I'll leave you to your stupid news," I said, shaking my head as I walked back into the kitchen. I got a plate quickly and the margarine and Marmite before putting the toast on it and sorting it out to how I liked – it was a very good thing that Mum was going shopping that afternoon after she'd shut the café, we were almost out of marge and Marmite too. I sat at the counter and ate my very small breakfast, glancing round as Aednat walked into the room in search of food.

"You won't find anything," I said, a small smile on my face that showed just how sneaky I was feeling at that moment for taking the last of the breakfast stuff. "You'll have to get something at the college."

"Oh you little fucker," Aednat muttered, narrowing her eyes at me as my smile turned very smug.

"What?" I asked innocently. "You guys always take the food before I can get to you so I got my own back today. You're going to university in a different part of the country in, what, 23 weeks? You've got to learn to live independently."

"I live more independently than Ryan does," Aednat said, scoffing at me as she walked away. "I'm going to get breakfast at college. See you later, Mum…"

"Bye, Dear," Mum replied.

Watching my sister storm away from me, I shook my head and finished my toast. I had no idea why but I could just sense that there was going to be more conflict today.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

"Disagreed! Borden was definitely the protagonist and Angier was the antagonist!"

Shaking my head, I looked at Amelia in disbelief at her statement. We were sat in the classroom with Lovina, Antonio and Feliciana nearing the end of our lesson, and having finished the sections of the PowerPoint presentation that we needed to create we decided that we would talk about films that we had seen.

"They were equally as mad as each other," I said. "Borden was so smug with his trick that he didn't think about how it would possibly affect those around him. Angier was so stricken with grief over the loss of his wife that he lost sight of what was really important in life and became obsessed with trying to figure out Borden's secret."

"Flawed though Borden may be but he still sacrificed a lot," Amelia argued.

"Sacrificing something doesn't make you a protagonist though," I said. "I don't think that that film actually had a protagonist as both characters were so evenly flawed."

Amelia rolled her eyes and poked her tongue out at me as the others laughed, leaving me to just shake my head and smile at her fondly. "I don't agree with you on this but I'll drop it."

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Kiku, shifting his chair over to join our conversation. "I heard you talking about people, is this about that magician film?"

"Yes!" Amelia grinned. "Have you seen it?"

"Yes, I have," Kiku said, nodding his head. "It was most puzzling! I did enjoy it though!"

"I'm surprised a Yank like her can even understand the title of that film."

Silence fell in the classroom as we all turned to look at Elizabeta who was sat on her chair on the other side of the room looking down her nose at us. I could feel Amelia stiffen slightly, putting my hand on her leg to warn her to keep calm – Lara may have left the room but she would be back soon enough.

"That film seems way too complicated for someone like her to understand," she continued, undeterred by the ominous silence in the room. "American's are known to have such small IQs after all. All the fatty foods, video games and crap taste in life turning them into horrible little sub-humans. Like her. But the ones like her are the worst; sluts who can't keep their legs closed. Pathetic, trampy little whores without a single brain cell in that stupid blonde head of hers."

I jumped slightly as Amelia rose from her seat and glared vehemently at Elizabeta, unsure what to do. I was just as furious as she seemed to be and someone needed to teach Elizabeta a lesson.

"I have kept quiet for too long about how you've been treating me," she said, her hands balled into fists. "I didn't want to cause any trouble but I guess that with scumbags like you in the world that'll happen anyway. You are a fine one to be acting like you the greatest human on this planet when you have been through exactly what you are doing to me." She paused as Elizabeta's eyes widened a little. "That's right. I know your dirty little secret. You're not the only one with sources, but I think mine are a little better than yours.

"You never used to be like this, did you? No, you used to beat everyone up but you never mentally tortured them like you do now. You used to get called a boy, didn't you? People genuinely thought that you were a boy from how you acted and how you dressed. You really passed for one too from what I heard. But then you got to high school and realised from the giggling and teasing that maybe acting and looking the way you did was a bad thing. You lost a lot of weight, restyled your hair, wore girlier clothing and make up… You slept with anyone that would pay you the time of day too.

"You got pregnant but got the baby aborted. All because you were trying to prove yourself different from what the people were saying about you. And you have the nerve to sit there and call me a slut, a whore, stupid… to treat me the way that you have been?

"But you know the one thing I can do that you've never been able to, which is why you are such a horrible person today. Do you? I forgive you. Because wars and fights do nothing but destroy this planet. I forgive you for all that you've done to me, for making me feel like the lowest of the low and that I shouldn't be alive, for the names, the threats. I forgive you."

I smiled a little, admiring just how brave Amelia was – I wouldn't have been able to stand there in front of 23 people and do what she had just done. Elizabeta seemed less than happy about it though.

"Fuck you and your forgiveness, Whore!" she snapped, glaring at Amelia with so much hatred and disgust I thought she was close to jumping over the table and kicking her head in. "How fucking dare you talk about any of that! HOW DARE YOU JUDGE ME! You are nothing but a pathetic little whore! You can take your forgiveness and choke on it!"

Looking at her with a neutral expression, Amelia shook her head and turned away from her to pick her belongings up. "You have proven my point," she said before heading out of the classroom door. Elizabeta was breathing deeply, her hands balled into fists – beside her, Gilbert looked nervous and I knew that was because he had been on the receiving end of her punches as one of the people that had believed her to be a boy. Getting my bag, I looked at Elizabeta contemptibly as I got up.

"There's a reason that pride is a deadly sin, you know," I said, gaining her surprised attention. "When someone offers you a ticket out of being such a bitch you should take it, otherwise it just makes you look exactly what you are."

Before she could retaliate, I turned away from her and walked out of the classroom too. I soon found Amelia sat out on the grass by the Coffeehouse, her knees tucked up under her chin as she stared at a ladybug in thought.

"I love you, you know that right," I said, smiling at her as she looked up at me in surprise. "How did you get to be so brave?"

"I'm not brave," Amelia replied, getting up off of the grass. "I just don't like bullies."

I put my arm around her shoulders and kissed her head, walking off of the campus with her. She leant against me as we walked, and I couldn't help the smile that had formed on my face – I was so proud of her.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

When we got back to her house, we were greeted by the sight of Francis and Emily sat on the sofa with Matthew and Sophia on the floor watching what appeared to be some old home movies. There was a blush on Matthew's face, his ears and neck very pink as a baby version of himself (probably around 8 months old) was sat in a tiny bathtub getting splashed by a baby Amelia – both giggling madly.

"Awwwww," I chuckled, the rest of them turning to us; Francis and Emily chuckled too, Sophia giggled and Amelia and Matthew turned the same shade of red as Matthew's t-shirt.

"We're avoiding the living room!" Amelia said, grabbing my hand.

"Oh, but I want to see more!" I laughed, completely teasing her.

"NO!"

"Oh, ma petite ange, why don't you let the boy see your childhood?" Francis grinned, clearly enjoying teasing his daughter as much as I was.

"Je vais vous tuer si vous n'avez pas éteindre ça!" snapped Amelia, giving her father a puppy-dog-look that made us all chuckle. Rolling her eyes, she dragged me from the room and upstairs to her bedroom – shutting the door to drown out the sound of the home videos downstairs. "You have a change of clothes and stuff for tomorrow right?"

"I do," I smiled, holding her waist. "You know, you were a cute baby."

Blushing, she rested her head on my chest. "They're such weirdoes sometimes…" she muttered.

"You're a lot more beautiful now though," I continued, kissing her head. She looked up at me, the blush deeper but a smile curving her lips up. "I meant it earlier. You are so brave, I love you and I regret not having you in my life sooner."

"We'd have been different people," she said, her hands resting on my chest. "I love having you in my life as it happened. If we'd met sooner, things would have been totally different and… well, I wouldn't change any of this. You made me brave."

"And I'll keep doing that until I stop breathing," I replied, leaning down and pressing my lips to hers. And as she kissed me back I knew that I agreed with her completely.

_**Notes:**_

**DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DELAY!**

**Sorry guys!**

**I hope this cutsie-slash-epic chapter is worth it!**

**I got a review on my new story saying about Fem!America never really being a hero-like character and so I thought and Amelia just kicked some arse in this chapter! Don't get me wrong, I love Hungary - but it's poetic liscence, my friends. If I want to make someone a bitch then they will be a bitch!**

**Oh and did you see what I did? I included actual Hetalia scenes! Ah, poor old Hungary xD**

**Another point, yes, that is a Nickleback song Arthur was singing at the beginning. But, once again fan fiction is very smooth like that in which I can pretend a character wrote the song. So, any time I now have a song involved that is "written" by a character I'll list it in these notes like:**

**_Song(s):_  
**- Nickleback - If Today Was Your Last Day

**BTW! I WILL GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO WHOEVER CAN NAME THE FILM ARTHUR AND AMELIA WERE ARGUING ABOUT!**


	16. Thanks

_**Reputation**_

_**Chapter Sixteen**_

_**Thanks**_

The air in the classroom in the days after Elizabeta and Amelia's confrontation was set in a growing divide of stale bitterness. There were those, like Gilbert and some others, who stuck by Elizabeta in a stubborn hatred for Amelia – dirty looks being sent across the classroom in pathetic attempts to get a rise out of her. But Amelia just ignored them, she'd gone through so much worse that a couple of filthy looks from people she didn't even care about was like a joke really.

Naturally, there were more people on her side now; suddenly less afraid to speak out against the stupidity that went on in that classroom after Amelia showed them just how simple it was. Comments were still being made about Amelia, names getting frown about and horrible curse words being muttered under breaths whenever she walked by anyone. I had never heard the "C" word used by one person in a single sentence so many times before, and it was truly disgusting that someone Liz's age was being so childish and disgusting towards someone so much younger than her.

But that wasn't the only reason that the air was getting tense – the court hearing results would be revealed on the Friday of that week, and plenty of people were starting to rally into corners of innocence and guilt.

Banding together, all those people who had made it very clear that they didn't like Amelia started campaigning around the college campus for her removal from the site. It was truly revolting how the principle was allowing this to happen, saying that it was 'in every student's rights to have freedom of speech'. But surely that would mean that Amelia could have her say too. She was a fellow student after all, and one that was being alienated so openly. Luckily, those who knew Amelia was telling the truth rallied around her and started to fight back on her behalf.

We had started to avoid any public places within the college such as the cafés and the library – they were becoming so much more hassle than they were worth, so during two hour breaks we would simply take the bus into town and go to a restaurant. McDonald's was Amelia's prime choice, and though I found the food there highly unappealing I decided that it was for her – what I wanted didn't matter when this was a trip to make her feel better.

Friday morning came and it felt as though all the moisture had been sucked dry from the air – taking in a deep breath was almost painful as it was so dry the air was pretty harsh on my throat. I coughed, trying to clear away the feeling as I hauled myself out of bed once again and made my way into the bathroom. I shut and locked the door behind me, leaning my hands against the sink and looking in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot, the pupils so contracted that it looked as though my eyes were totally green. There were bags underneath them too – pale rings where I hadn't slept very well the night before. I had continual nightmares, all my worries of the week manifesting themselves in such grotesque forms like some Japanese video game.

Turning around, I turned the shower on and waited for the water to warm up. Mum had been kind enough to lay us all out some towels that morning – she'd told us the night before that she'd be going to the café earlier that morning to bring in new stock with Ambre (the business really was booming, especially with Ambre's pretty face always smiling behind the counter).

I stepped into the water and felt my skin tense from the heat of the water – I knew that I was a peculiar person in this sense, even in the hottest of weather I still insisted in having a scolding hot shower, and the time I spent under the water meant I came out with red skin like I'd been sunburnt… I didn't mind though, the warmth surrounding me as I let it wash over my face and head.

The shower was one place that I found I could openly think about just about anything, even managing to have little debates with my reflection on how I should handle a specific topic that I knew would be coming up in a class. Generally, it centred on what I should do if Liz tried to have another shot at Amelia. However, Amelia didn't really seem to be fazed by anything that was being said so I decided that I would step back until it really did get too hard on her. I didn't want that day repeated…

Stepping out of the shower onto the matt, I wrapped a towel around myself and looked in the mirror once more as I took the spare hand towel from behind the door to dry my hair off. I was pleased to see that I looked moderately human again, or at least a more alive looking human. I brushed my teeth and rinsed my mouth, having a quick shave of the slight stubble that was building on my chin – I was rather impressed I'd managed to grow some light facial hair but I knew Amelia hated it. As I left the bathroom, I tried to think about what I would be doing that day – 9:15am Industries lesson with Susan, 11:15am Photography lesson with Laura, a pointless 2 hour break, and then Pre-Production with Rodney.

I could tell that that day was going to be a long one, just by the lessons alone – I wasn't even taking into consideration the impact that the hearing results might entail. If that man was found guilty then it would prove Amelia right yet have those determined to hate her convinced that she'd sent an innocent man to 8 months in prison; if he was found not guilty then people would stop believing her and those accusing her of being a liar would have a greater argument than she had. I know that you can't change the opinions of some people but knowing that some of those people would be turning against her just out of pure spite made my blood boil.

Just because you have the right to say what you want doesn't mean you should. Everyone has feelings, every single person on this planet – why is it in your rights to make someone else feel like they shouldn't be alive anymore?

Once I was dressed, I walked downstairs with my backpack in hand just managing to get out of the line of fire as Ryan ran to the bathroom ahead of Aednat. I shook my head as they continued to bicker about who should go first, dumping my bag on the sofa before heading into the kitchen and making myself some crumpets. They were still arguing when my crumpets popped six minutes later, so I – with a migraine starting to form – walked to the bottom of the stairs and looked up at them.

"FOR GOD'S SAKE STOP BICKERING LIKE A PAIR OF KIDS!" I shouted, wincing a little as my own voice rattled in my head. "YOU TWO ARE GOING TO UNIVERSITY SOON YET YOU'RE ACTING YOUNGER THAN PETER! GROW UP!"

I went back to the kitchen before they could respond to me, buttering my crumpets and listening to some sorry sounding footsteps and the shower starting up. Shaking my head, I put Marmite on the crumpets and took them to the living room to eat. I decided that instead of TV, I would put Paul Evan's breakfast show on as it was slowly becoming a favourite of mine after he had been so open with our campaign. He still mentioned it from time to time, sharing links to us still and talking about things he had heard – it was nice to know that someone as highbrow as him was on our side.

As I listened to the auto-tune riddled _Starships_, Ryan came downstairs totally ignoring me for shouting at him and Aednat. I rolled my eyes, this behaviour simply proving my point even more. Aednat came into the living room and picked up her notebook from the counter, glancing at me with an odd expression. I looked at her as she sat down on the sofa, confusion washing over my facial features as she put her hand on my arm.

"Arthur, I…"

She was cut off by the radio though, both of us looking over to the device as a bulletin came up.

"_Today, the Crown Court will finally decide if a local man is to be found guilty of the attempted rape of a former pupil in the college he used to teach at. Geoffrey Cabot, aged 31, is accused of blackmailing and sexually harassing the 16 year old girl who cannot be named for legal reasons…_"

"This is what's got you so agitated today, isn't it?" Aednat said softly, putting her arm around me as I nodded solemnly. "It'll be okay, Arthur… She'll be fine as long as she had you by her side."

"What if it isn't though?" I muttered. "What if it just gets worse?"

"Then you use that brain of yours to make it better," she smiled. "If anyone can turn that kind of situation around, you can."

"I appreciate your confidence in me, but I don't feel it myself…"

"No one ever does, it takes someone else to point it out for them."

I watched as she stood up and ruffled my hair, chuckling a little as she walked away to get her car keys. She and Ryan left together as Peter ran down the stairs to sort his backpack out.

"Have you seen my bike lock?" he asked me.

"In your hand," I replied.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Amelia wasn't on the bus when I travelled into college, nor was she in the classroom waiting for me, nor did she show up during the first four hours. So, when the 2 hour break came Lovina, Antonio, Lina, Feliciana and Sophia headed to the library with me. Matthew wasn't in class either so we all knew that this was definitely about the court case.

And where better to find all the information you need than the cyber-highway?

PC or Mac didn't really matter to us at that moment; all that we cared about was being able to get onto the Internet. I went over to the first computer that I could get too in Computer Room Four, all of them gathering around me as I logged in and loaded Safari. I could tell that we were all nervous about what we could find, but as I typed BBC News into the search bar and loaded its homepage every feeling of dread washed away from us as if we had suddenly been doused in sunlight.

The top story on the website, in large bold letters was:

**MONSTER FOUND GUILTY OF ABUSE**

"Is this the right story?" Lina asked, leaning over my shoulder to get a better look. "Click on it!"

Doing as I was told, I clicked on the link and read the story aloud to them. "Monster found guilty of abuse – the former head of media studies at Bankford College, Mr Geoffrey Cabot, has been found guilty of all charges set before him in Crown Court today.

"Mr Cabot, aged 31, was accused of blackmailing a former student of the college to sexually assault her. He was today found guilty of all charges and sentenced to 10 months imprisonment.

"When asked about the ordeal, the student, who agreed with the judge to be allowed to be named as Amelia Jones, stated: 'it's a relief that this is all over. I'm thankful to everyone who has supported me and believed me when plenty have believed it all to be lies'."

"This is great, no?" Sophia smiled. "Amelia finally got the justice she'd been looking for!"

I nodded and smiled in a relieved way. "She did," I said. "It's going to be amusing to see what the rest of the class thinks about this little bit of news. Maybe we should put it up on the projector?"

"You're evil sometimes," Lina grinned.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

I had tried to text Amelia when I got out of Rodney's lesson – trying to get her side of what happened and tell her what faces the group pulled when the news revealed to them that she had been telling the truth the entire time. But I heard nothing. I was tempted to get the bus to her home, but I didn't want to intrude on what was probably a very tough time for her and her family.

The court hearing not only proved her to be telling the truth to the country, but it proved to her mother and father that these horrible things really had happened to their daughter though they had still been denying it to themselves with their home-movies of innocent times.

So, Saturday morning I tried again and this time I got a response.

_Meet me at Cedar Woods_. _Bring your camera_.

Cedar Woods was only a five minute walk from my house, 35 minutes away from Amelia's so why was she going there? Especially alone after a trial about attempted rape and sexual assault.

Getting my shoes on quickly, I said goodbye to my mother as she made her way out the door to go to the café and started to run up the hill to the woods. The gates were open as they always were so I made my way along the gravel path and through the trees, the location still whispering to me in the same way it had done since I was a child. I decided to walk straight through the middle so that I got to the best viewing point – the large stone stairs at the top of the hill which looked out over most of the land and the beautiful lake.

I smiled though as I spotted Amelia sat on the very top step, leaning against the pillar that supported the blockage around the top. She was facing away from me, most likely looking out at the lake, so I walked over to her in a way that made my presence known without scaring her half to death. She looked up at me as I sat down, smiling.

"You heard the news then?" she asked.

"I heard," I replied, smiling as I put my arm around her. "That was pretty brave letting them publish your name."

"I would have felt like a hypocrite if I'd stayed anonymous," Amelia said, leaning against me. "Now people will know the stigma around this kind of thing is only because of the media. They make us feel ashamed of what's happened to us, giving us these tools to keep our identities a secret. But I'm not ashamed."

"So, why did you want me to bring my camera?" I asked.

"I want to record my video before you go to work," she smiled. "Just knowing that it's there waiting for the world to hear the real story will make me feel better."

I was genuinely surprised, but nodded and got my camera out of my bag. I turned it on and started to record her, smiling a little as Amelia waited for a moment before talking.

"My name is Amelia Jones," she said. "I'm 16 years old and I came to England from America to be a part of the International Project. I come from a pretty mixed up family – my Mom's Native American, my Dad's French, I'm American and my brother is Canadian. It's too long a story to tell how we all have these different nationalities but that's not the point of this video.

"As many people watching this will be aware, I was recently in a court case which I was proven right in. You see, when I first started college here in England – that's Junior and Senior years in high school, my fellow Americans – I made the bad decision of choosing a college I thought would take me far in the Media courses. But that's when I met Geoffrey Cabot – my head of course and teacher of Digital Communications.

"He kept me back after class one day. I thought it was for a lesson but… he did things to me. Things he blackmailed me to keep quiet about. But one day after we were heard in a classroom, a rumour started spreading – one that he used to his advantage. I was accused of blackmailing him, making passes at him. I was the college slut and was kicked out…

"I was transferred to a new college. A better college. On my first day, I was totally alone after my brother Matthew had gone to his class – he takes Media too and was in the second half of the set I'd been placed in. So, I went along to where I thought my class would be and found the best thing to ever be in my life.

"Sat by himself in the corner was Arthur," she smiled a bit more as my smile softened, "and he could see how scared and nervous I was. The rumours had been spreading to other places and I knew it would be there too, but he didn't seem to know me that way. He didn't know me at all and offered to be my tour guide for the day and a friend to talk to.

"Soon the class came in and I got to introduce myself. But one girl recognised me, she knew the rumours. When we went out on break, she warned Arthur to stay away from me. She and others called me a lying whore. But Arthur defended me. He got them to agree to give me a chance, some did and I'm glad to call them my friends now.

"Elizabeta Héderváry had other ideas. She and Gilbert Beilschmidt planned a frame up for me in the class one day. Gilbert hid Elizabeta's phone away from sight whilst I was near her computer getting something from the printer next to it. She'd gone to the bathroom. When she went back to her seat she started screaming about someone stealing her phone. Kiku pointed out that I'd been the last one near there so I was forced to empty my bag. It was fine until it got to a pouch I'd been given from a trip my father had taken to Hong Kong a while back. It contained personal affects, like pads and spare underwear. She opened it and flashed my undies to the whole class.

"The abuse in the classroom continued, but soon it was discovered I had a profile on NoteSpring where I posted videos of me singing. _Someone_ made a fake profile and started abusing me there. Saying stuff about me being a whore, a slut, all nasty things to do with STIs… People started coming to my page asking for sex or generally being nasty.

"It went on for a while… It got to the point where people were telling me to kill myself. I wouldn't be missed. I wouldn't be plaguing this planet anymore.

"So one day, I skipped class. I sat in front of the computer and recorded this video…"

I blinked, taking a moment as she paused to realise that she really wanted me to edit her video into her story. I knew she must have still had the clip somewhere but I never thought I would have to see it again…

"I posted that video to my NoteSpring account then went to the bathroom and get a pair of scissors. I broke them and started to cut into my wrists with them. I tried to hack myself into non-existence but I was found… Arthur found me with his brother in time. They'd seen my video and came to help me… to stop me killing myself because so many in the world – even people from different countries who I didn't know – we making me feel like I didn't deserve my place in it.

"And the abuse continued in class. I was a liar, he didn't do all these things to me, they kept saying. Until recently, I had enough. I stood up in front of my entire class and told her what I thought. I tried to make her realise she was just as sad and lonely as I was and that I forgave her for what she put me through. She told me where to stick my forgiveness and has continued to hurtle more abuse at me.

"It's been worse these past couple of day – people split into factions for and against me. People even started campaigning to get me kicked out of the college – our principle allowing them to do so!

"Ms Hardy, I would like to put it to your attention that I am a human being too. I am a student, a person, and I have feelings like all the people who picked on me. And to let them to do that to me on such a large scale. I hope you realise you let me be afraid of being in a place where I should be safe.

"And to anyone watching who feels like there's nothing left for you on this planet, who feel that people hate them so much they should just die… You're wrong. You are loved, you are wanted, and you are talented. Someone out there is looking for you but you've got to look for them too. Don't lose faith, or hope, because you will be something great one day.

"I also wanted to thank Arthur, who's sat behind the camera filming me say this. I love you so much. I dreamt about heroes for a long time, about finding a real one but I always assumed they'd have a costume and powers. But then you came along. You are my hero, Arthur Kirkland. I owe you my life."

_**Notes:**_

**I am trying really hard to get into a good pattern with these uploads.**

**Also, I'm trying to keep this brief because my eyes are starting to hurt.**

**Shit got done! YEAH. We got the conviction! We got her story! AND WE GOT FLUFF!**

**No, the story isn't done yet ;) 14 more to go :D It's madness but I never claimed to be sane ;D**


	17. Look

**Reputation**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Look**

Everyone knows that there are a few types of fears that every guy has when they reach the age of sixteen: cumming too early, not getting it up at all, getting told "I love you" when you don't return the feelings, "I'm pregnant – you're the father", and being left alone with the baby. I know that I am being very general with this, and some of the fears could apply to girls too – but from my own experience and from listening to the guys that I have grown up with over the years, it's kind of true.

And why, you may ask, am I talking about the fears of man-kind? That's simple - because my mother had decided to volunteer me to babysit Scarlet whilst she, Dad, Scott and Ambre went out for dinner. The first thing that I asked Mum when she sprung that bit of news on me was "why me". I wasn't trying to be rude or dramatic like this kids who look to the sky and scream, I genuinely wanted to know why out of her three older children at home I had to look after her.

"It'll be good for you," she said. "You and Scarlet can have some bonding time together and you get to see what life is really about."

I had no idea what she meant by "what life is really about". I was doing some pretty great things with my life! Amelia's video had been the breakthrough that we had been waiting for – it had been uploaded for no longer than two hours and within that time it had received over 750 comments and over 1 million views. People had started to put out requests for events to do some fundraising for charities – many ideas popping into my head that would bring people together; the main one that was sticking with me being a concert.

Music brought people together in some truly great ways – it created communities and families. Lady Gaga had her 'Little Monsters', and she wasn't the only one. So if the music of a highly made-up, glamourized pop star could make people want to be like her – then why couldn't music bring a group of people together to do some amazing things for people in need of support and guidance?

But I digress.

They could have asked Aednat to baby sit, but she was conveniently going out with Joshua that evening. They could have even asked Ryan, but naturally he was spending the night with Rochelle. Bryn was an obvious no as he was still in Wales, and Peter was too young. Though he still managed to wriggle his way out of even being in the same place as Scarlet and I as he was leaving the house too – he was going to Lovina and Feliciana's cousin Marcello's house for a 'video game battle night'…

So that left me all alone with a 3 month old baby…

Luckily she was at that age when all you had to do was entertain her until she went to sleep then let her sleep… At least, I hoped that was what I had to… She seemed slightly different from any baby I'd seen before, but I guess that's what happens when you mix Scott and Ambre's genes together… Two bundles of crazy making one little bundle of hyperness…

Don't get me wrong, I loved Scarlet – she was one of the best things to happen to Scott, he was like a totally new person and the way he handled her was so much different than how he had been with any of us as kids; you could really see how much being a dad meant to him. But knowing that I was going to be alone with a tiny person who couldn't do much for themselves… The thought just scared me; what if I couldn't protect her, what if I accidentally hurt her…

I was up in my bedroom when I heard the doorbell sound downstairs – I was listening to music whilst typing away at my computer as Rodney, the ultimate critic, wanted me to do further improvements on my report about different media regulators in the UK. As if 5000 words on 5 organisations wasn't enough… It was seven o'clock on a Saturday evening near the end of May, so I hadn't been at home for very long as I had to help Carol take two large piles of newspapers to the garage to be sent back to the suppliers the next morning.

"Arthur, come out of that room of yours," called Mum's voice, sounding a little irritated as if I had spent the entire day in my room instead of 9 – 5 in a shop working and earning money.

"I'll be down in a second," I called back, quickly saving my work. I think Mum was starting to get into that period in a woman's life where she just stops having them… Her emotions were all over the show and she tended to take it out on me a lot – Aednat got it too, being the only girl in the house and sometimes not acting female…

"NO, NOW."

"I'M DOING COURSEWORK!"

"DON'T TAKE THAT TONE WITH ME!"

Gritting my teeth, I made sure that my changes had been saved and then quickly turned everything off, heading downstairs to a very red faced Mum. Dad was stood behind her looking as if he didn't know what to say, Ambre was bouncing Scarlet who looked very startled by Mum's outburst and Scott just looked amused by it all.

"Oh, so you decided to show your face?" Mum asked, looking at me vehemently.

"I told you I'd be downstairs," I replied, looking away from her. "So, where are you lot going then?"

"Out to dinner," Ambre smiled, handing Scarlet to me carefully. The little girl giggled and snuggled into my chest, gripping my t-shirt with her pudgy little fist. "We've left everything she'll need in the living room, okay? So just call us if anything happens."

"I know," I said, smiling a little bit. With Mum already heading out to the car, Dad nodded awkwardly and followed her out – Ambre smiled and followed them, but Scott stayed behind for a moment.

"Don't be nervous with her, okay?" he said, surprising me slightly. "You'll be fine."

I nodded, smiling a bit more to help reassure him too. With a nod, he too left the house – shutting the door and leaving me totally alone with Scarlet. She looked towards the door when she heard it shut, looking around in an attempt to find her parents – I could just sense the start of tears and wails coming, but to my surprise it never came. Confused, I took her into the living room and sat on the sofa with her sat up on my lap.

"You're so pretty," I smiled, lightly poking a chubby dimple on her cheek. She giggled and tried to get away from my finger, so I lifted her above me and let her hover for a moment. She seemed to like that, a large smile on her face. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

"AWA!" she shouted, giggling. It sounded like she was trying to say 'Arthur'.

"That's right!" I grinned, standing her up slightly and letting her hold my cheeks. "I'm your Uncle Arthur."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

It was starting to get a little later; the sun was visibly setting in the distance but Scarlet was being a determined little girl and refusing to go to sleep. She kept huffing at me and babbling almost angrily every time that I tried to set her down in her carrier.

"Your Mummy and Daddy aren't going to be happy with me if you're not asleep," I said to her, rocking her a little. But still she moaned and wailed, smacking my arms to stop the motions. "I know, why don't we go for a little walk, yeah?"

"EH!" she giggled, finally allowing me to set her down in her pushchair. I strapped her in and quickly got my door key before pushing her out of the front door and locking it behind me. She was a fairly strong child for her age, but then again Scott was sitting up by 3 months according to Mum so it should have been that surprising that she was like her father in that sense. She looked around curiously as I pushed her through the streets, giggling at people and shouting out every time a bus passed us. She waved a lot too, an elderly couple at the bus stop looking at her endearingly and waved back to her.

"Such a cutie," I heard the old lady coo as I pushed Scarlet towards the park. It was fun just walking around the streets in this lighting with her, she was a breath of fresh air in my stressful days – and she didn't even have to say anything, just her giggles and babbles were enough to keep a smile on my face. Continuing our walk through the park once we arrived there, I looked around us as we went along the gravel path on the far side of the field next to the play area. There was a group of boys playing football in the middle of the field, they looked around my age but that just made me want to avoid them all the more – a boy my age pushing around a pram could look like either of two things: I had a baby young or I was a girly-boy who liked prams…

"Awa?"

Blinking slightly, I moved round to the front of the crib and smiled at the little girl – Scarlet blinking too at my sudden appearance but giggling brightly. I kissed her cheek and moved back round to the handles, glancing over at the boys again.

One was stood aside from the others, in goal it seemed. But he was looking right at me, his arms folded and a dark look on his face. His nose was large and his hair such a pale blonde it was silver, which only made the purple of his eyes intensify – a dark aura seeming to radiate from him.

I knew this boy. I hated this boy.

It was time to run home…

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

I said nothing about what I had seen.

Not to my parents, not to my siblings, and not to Amelia when she asked how the whole thing went. They didn't need the worry and I was sure that it would only be a one off. So I said the evening was fun, that Scarlet and I really bonded.

They bought it.

Soon, May turned to June and the entire UK was gearing up for a very important Bank Holiday. Tuesday the 5th of June was the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and if there was one thing you could say about my home town it was that we knew how to throw big street parties.

The last time that I could even remember a big street party happening was when I was 6 years old: the half term holidays had been set back a week or so because of the jubilee and myself and my class mates got to come into school in non-uniform as long as it was red, white and blue and get Union Jack's painted onto our cheeks or even all over our face.

One kid had an allergic reaction to the paint on his face at one point but he was fine in the end…

I remember at one point me and my Romanian friend, Dimitri, had to sing "I'm Henry the VII I Am" in front of the entire class – so naturally we mucked around to make it more funny instead of painfully embarrassing.

But then we were taken to the street party nearby and got to have lost of food and drinks, sweets and balloons, and so many people were laughing around us as bands played – it was so colourful and amazing, I still have no idea why we British (mainly the English) are perceived to be so stuffy and uptight; we can be so very eccentric that sometimes we can out party the Americans.

For once, I was actually looking forward to a large social event – 2012 was turning into a very good year to be British, and from the looks of the Queen's jubilee tour so far were going to have a very bright summer despite the terrible forecasts that had been predicted. Amelia had called me the night before saying that she wanted to check out the fair, so I had said to her that I would go with her – this was something that she was very happy about as I was going to be looking after Scarlet again at the same time.

Mum had asked for Scott's help in the café as well because of how busy it was going to get in there – the fair was going to be right outside the door so that meant there would be plenty of customers looking for sweet treats and drinks to keep them going at reasonable prices. And when she was asked if she wanted to spend the day with her Uncle Arthur again, Scarlet apparently grinned brightly, threw her hands in the air and shouted "AWA!"

And who was I to deny a demand like that?

I was told to go to the café with Mum as Ambre and Scott would be meeting us there, so Amelia made her way down to my house earlier so that we could enjoy the day together. I laughed as she was wearing her Union Jack vest top again but she just grinned at me cutely and kissed my cheek.

"You're going to get a slap one day," she said, smiling at my Mum as she walked past us chuckling. "What, just cos I'm American I can't wear the flag of the country I live in?"

"I love living in such a weird society…" I said, shaking my head. "I'll probably end up bumping into my old friend and have to sing 'I'm Henry the VII I am' with him again."

"What?" Amelia asked, confused but with a grin on her face that showed that she wanted to know more. "When did this happen?"

"When I was 6 years old," I said, smiling. "Way back in the day when I was a boy."

"You still are a boy," Mum said, leaning against the car as she waited for us to get inside. "You'll always be my baby boy."

"You have another baby boy still…" I said, getting into my seat and looking out of the window. Mum looked like she would have commented on my tone, but knew that she couldn't look like the horrible person she'd been turning into in front of Amelia without sparking questions or looking like an embarrassment in front of someone she genuinely seemed to like. So, she just waited for us to get buckled in and then turned on the ignition and drove us through the town to the café's back entrance. Scott and Ambre were stood by the back door when we parked nearby them, Ambre holding onto the handle of Scarlet's pram as the little girl continued to giggle.

She called out and babbled as I got out the car, reaching out for me before I had even walked over to her properly. Amelia cooed behind me as I went over to Scarlet and gave her a little kiss on the cheek, smiling as Scarlet giggled and quietened down now that we were there.

"Scarlet's favourite 'word' now is 'Awa'," Scott chuckled, watching Ambre give me the push chair. "Be careful with her out there."

"I will," I smiled, walking away from them with Amelia. "So, where should we go first?"

"Awa!"

"I d-don't know," Amelia said, trying to force herself not to laugh. She couldn't keep it in though when Scarlet shouted again. "She's so cute!"

I chuckled and shook my head, walking around the fair with her. "We could always go and play a game or something. You know, try and win Scarlet a teddy?"

"That sounds great," Amelia smiled, looking around quickly to find a stand with a soft toy on it. She nodded to me and began to lead us through the crowd, making a path for me to push Scarlet through as some people were being so plain ignorant to us or giving me dirty looks as if she were my daughter and I was some 'scum teenaged father'…

Eventually we got to a stall, a hook-a-duck game of all things – Amelia was already having ago and for £2 an attempt I was praying that she was good. Thankfully, she was brilliant and somehow managed to hook two ducks at once. Baffled, the stall owner allowed her to pick two prizes – a sheep plush toy for Scarlet and pair of shutter shades. I shook my head as she put those ridiculous glasses on – though they did oddly suit her…

"Arthur! Amie! Hey!"

Looking round, we smiled as we saw Lina stood next to the hair dressers smiling at us and waving. But she wasn't alone. Walking over to her, I grinned as the guy with her blinked in realisation and smiled back at me.

"Arthur," he smiled.

"Hi, Dimitri," I grinned.

"You two know each other?" Lina asked.

"Yeah, we went to infants school together," I smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see what the fair was like and literally bumped into Lina," Dimitri said, rubbing the back of his neck a little.

"And you decided to flirt?" I grinned.

"Fuck off, Arthur," Lina smiled.

"That's a yes then."

"When did you have a baby?" Dimitri asked.

"She's my niece," I smiled. "Her name's Scarlet, she's Scott's daughter."

"Whoa, Scott had a kid?" Dimitri said, looking genuinely surprised. "He's settled down?! Didn't he like to beat us up a lot?"

"Yeah, but since he met Ambre and had Scarlet he's changed," I smiled. "Still a dick but that's just his personality. You can tell just how much being a dad means to him. Mum owns that café nearby and he's helping out with her and Ambre, hence why I have Scarlet, so you could always go in and say hi."

"I will," Dimitri laughed. "Who's your friend?"

"This is my girlfriend," I chuckled.

"I'm Amelia Jones," she smiled.

"Oooooh, you're that girl from the video! And that case!" he said, looking at her seriously. "I believed you the whole time. I used to go to that college, it sucks."

As we continued to catch up, I lost myself in the moment. It felt like normality was starting to settle back into my life again – I had my girlfriend laughing with my old friends, we were talking and laughing as if nothing had ever happened and I hadn't not seen Dimitri for 10 years. Out of habit of social insecurity, I glanced behind me into the crowd.

I wish I hadn't.

I felt myself pale as those purple eyes looked at me through the crowd again…

"Arthur?" asked Amelia, drawing my attention back to them. "What's the matter?"

_Should I tell her? This could be very bad… He's seen me twice… _

"Nothing. Everything's okay."

_**Notes:**_

**Sorry for the delays on updates, and that this has gone out of pattern. The next update should have been In The Shadows but I had no inspiration and had constant headaches… I have new glasses now and would have updated yesterday if I hadn't been breaking them in… But it's all good now and I can see!**

**So firstly: SCARLET. Isn't she just the cutest thing?!**

**And of course you all know who creepy staring guy is!**

**Right?**

**No? **

**Well, you'll have to wait and see what happens next!**

**R&R, fave, alert, all that stuff! LOVE YOU ALL!**


	18. Summer

**Reputation**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Summer**

From time to time, my family have a habit of being able to annoy me in very simple ways. It can be something so very mundane that any other person in the room is able to find enjoyment from or just ignore, but not me. Somehow I managed to be able to get seriously annoyed by it.

Which in some cases made me look very selfish.

In this case, the reason that it made me look selfish was because of my outburst of "you had me looking after their kid 2 times in a fortnight and never told me". It turned out that on the night that I had been left alone with Scarlet for the first time Mum, Dad, Scott and Ambre had gone to a fancy Chinese restaurant in town and half way through the evening Scott got down on one knee in front of them and the whole restaurant and proposed to Ambre.

My eldest brother had finally proposed to the mother of his child and was going to be getting married sometime in October (I think…).

And within the time of them coming home and even when I babysat for Scarlet again they never told me. I was also kicking myself for not noticing the diamond ring that had been Ambre's hand that whole time, but she wore such a varied amount of jewellery that it wasn't that much of a shock – Amelia hadn't noticed the ring either and aren't girls meant to be good at spotting these kinds of things?

This, however, put a convoluted plan into my mother's head which was going to go ahead whether we wanted it to or not. But to be fairly honest, the idea wasn't really as bad as we had initially thought.

Term had ended for the universities that my older brothers were attending, meaning that they had a lot of free time now on their hands. Bryn had finally come home again and was asking all sorts of questions about what he'd been missing – apparently he'd been following the YouTube channel we had set up and was 'impressed by the initiative' I'd been showing. Ruby had come round to visit on one occasion but her parents lived just outside of Cardiff so it was a bit of a journey for her – leading to Mum telling her to stay the night before making her way home. And on that very same day, Scott showed up with Scarlet and Ambre – the little girl that much bigger (now 4 months old) and giggling at the sight of so many people again. She seemed very pleased to get a hug from Bryn, who seemed just as happy as she did.

With everyone gathered in one place for once, Mum made us all sit down properly in the living room with a smile on her face.

"Now, you all remember that villa we have in Dawlish, right?" she started. We nodded our heads, a little too suspicious to trust ourselves to speak at that moment. "Well, your father and I were thinking, and we thought that it needed to have a little life in it again. So, I'm going to close the café and your father's booked a week off work for us all to take a well needed family holiday again. What with Scott and Bryn in university, and now Scarlet, and all of you getting into relationships-"

"-I'm not in a relationship!"

"Shut up, Peter," I said.

"All but one of you are in relationships," Mum corrected, "it seemed like a good time of year to go. We'll be near the beach in the fresh air, you lot get some freedom and… privacy in the villa… and the holiday camp it's part of has improved since we last went there so that should be fun to check out."

"Wait, so I can take Joshua with me?" Aednat asked.

"And Ruby?"

"And Amelia?"

"And Rochelle?"

Mum nodded. "It's lucky that place is so big," she said, smiling at us. "Peter can bring a friend too and Scott, you and Ambre will have plenty of space for yourselves and Scarlet."

"Sounds great, Mum," Scott smiled, shifting over to kiss her cheek. Now that the initial shock was over, the idea was starting to seem very good.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

I asked Amelia to come with me on her birthday – it was somewhat of an extra surprise for her. She was a little nervous at first – she told me that her mother and father had said they were going to the States during the holidays, it was just going to be them as they were going to visit their cousins Alfred and Maddy in LA.

"Oh," I said, rubbing my arm a little. "Well, this trip is next week…"

"Oh!" she grinned. "We're not going until a week after that! That's great! I'm sorry you can't come with us to the States… Mom didn't tell me they'd booked the flights until the other day and they'd been booked for months…"

"It's fine," I chuckled. "Having you on holiday with me for a week is going be fun enough."

She got up and gave me a quick kiss, looking round when she heard a bleeping sound on her computer. We both went over to it (we were in her bedroom at the time), I stayed sat back on her bed whilst she opened Skype – a window popping up with two teenagers in it peering back at us.

To say I was shocked was an understatement – the one closest to the camera was a teenage boy that looked so amazingly like Amelia that you'd have thought they were twins rather than her and Matthew, but then the girl behind the boy looked like Matthew…

"Alfred!" Amelia grinned. "Maddy! Hey!"

"Hiya, Ames!" the boy, who I know realised was her cousin Alfred, grinned. "Happy birthday!"

"Happy birthday," Maddy said, her voice calm and quiet. "Who's that?"

"Huh?" Amelia asked, looking round and smiling at me. "Oh, that's Arthur – my boyfriend."

"Oh yeah, the guy from that video!" grinned Alfred, way too enthusiastically. I nodded to them and sat forward a bit.

"Hi, yeah, I'm Arthur Kirkland," I said. "Can I be blunt about something?"

"Go ahead," Amelia said.

"You look a lot like Alfred and Maddy looks like Matthew…" I said. "Are you sure you're…"

"Sure we're the right siblings?" Amelia suggested, finishing my sentence for me.

"Dude, don't worry," Alfred chuckled. "We get that all the time. Trust us, our parents were starting to freak out when we got older but they did all the tests and shit and it all came back that Maddy really is my sister and Matthew is really Amelia's brother."

I nodded and chuckled. "Well, it was nice to meet you," I said. "Despite it being online."

"Well, that's what you get for living in England," Alfred grinned, giving a thumbs up. "You should totally come out to LA one day! Who knows maybe with that Cyber Bullying thing you guys are doing you might end up out here on TV talk shows and stuff! Amie you better not forget me when you're famous!"

"Says the guy who's just landed a role in a film!" grinned Amelia. She looked at me and grinned. "Alfred's quite the actor and has been trying to get into that line of work forever. And he's got a role in an awesome film that's coming out soon."

"It's only as an extra," Alfred shrugged. "But it's a start. I do a good job on set there and build up my résumé and then I should be able to get some pretty good roles."

"Well, good luck with that," I said, genuinely meaning it. "You're not the only one pursuing something tough so I know the stress."

"Really?" Alfred asked, blinking slightly. "What are you doing?"

"I write a lot," I admitted. "I have done since I was seven. And I recently finished a small fantasy novel and have been sending it out publishers but I've heard nothing back from anyone yet…"

"Oh, Arthur, why didn't you tell me that?" Amelia said, looking at me with surprise.

"Because it's no big deal," I chuckled, kissing her cheek. "It's just something I have to go through to pursue my dream."

"We all have things we need to do to get what we want in life," Maddy said, smiling. "Nothing good gets handed to you on a plate so you have to work your ass off to get it."

"Exactly," I grinned.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

The only problem with going to Devon was it was 4 hours away from where we lived – so it was a very tough ride. Luckily nearly everyone had their own car; Aednat was driving herself and Joshua, Ryan was driving himself and Rochelle, Bryn was driving Ruby, Scott was driving Ambre and Scarlet, which left myself and Amie stuck in the back with Peter in the 8-seater car that my Dad had bought Mum to get us all around when we were a bit younger.

It was a very cramped and annoying drive, Peter constantly leaning over the seat to get something from his bag and hitting me in the head in the process. I'd opted to go in the middle so that Amelia could have the comfier seat and be further away from my annoying little brother, but it seemed like she should have gone in the middle – Peter kept leaning around me to talk to her and get her advice on where to go on a level and such. At one point I got to join in because he'd started to play Super Scribblenauts and couldn't figure out what to spawn so that equation fit.

That killed 2 hours, but then I remembered there was a McDonald's in the section that we were about to enter and Peter knew it too. He shouted out when he saw it about how hungry he was, and that got Amelia looking out the window and brightening when she saw the fast food demon…

Don't get me wrong, I like McDonald's. As much as I take the piss out of American's for their love of fast food, I like it too and welcome the jokes back in my direction. It was just the over-the-top way that some people, especially those in my class, had when they talked about it. Oh, and let's not forget to mention the irony of the sponsoring the Olympic Games – the place with the reputation for having an unhealthy _salad_ was sponsoring the event that encouraged fitness.

It amazed me.

Unfortunately it was busy when Dad pulled into the carpark, the other cars that had been following us parking too so that my siblings could have a pit stop too. And of course my chivalrous Dad said "come on boys, you can come in and get the food with me and leave the girls out of that fight".

So we spent fifteen minutes fighting our way through the hordes of people trying to gorge themselves on things that were going to clog their arteries and shorten their life expectancies… I got to the front of the queue first so got the food for myself and Amelia and ducked out the side exit, walking round and barely dodging a car that decided to skid by me – a couple of guys around my age sticking their fingers up at me and laughing like Chavvy versions of the hyenas from The Lion King.

After we'd eaten, we got back onto the road and finally made our way around Torquay – I had to explain a Faulty Towers joke to Amelia when she looked confused about something Dad said. She'd never seen it before so it was fairly difficult – though she had seen some Monty Python films before so it wasn't too bad when she recognised the name John Cleese.

Finally, we entered Dawlish and went pulled into the holiday camp that held the villa we'd be stay in again. It'd been a fair few years since the last time we'd been in Dawlish, so it was a refreshing change to hear children laughing as they ran alongside their parents instead of children swearing profusely as they ran away from their parents. We had to wait in the car outside of reception whilst Dad went inside to get the bed covers and key to the villa from the attendants but soon we were driving through to the other side of the site and parking in the area outside of our villa.

Amelia grinned at me as she looked up at the beautiful white building – it was the first time she had ever been to Devon before, so it was going to be an experience that I wanted her to enjoy. We both got out of the car and collected our stuff whilst Mum went to open the front door, hurrying inside once it was open to set out stuff in my room. I remembered exactly where it was so it didn't take us too long to get inside and start putting the bed covers on. Amelia lent over and opened the window to let some air into the room, looking round the room that still held old posters of bands I used to like and drawings from when I was younger.

"So you're parents really do own this place then?" she asked. "They don't just rent it?"

"Yeah, they bought it after we rented it for a week," I said, buttoning up the bottom of the duvet cover. "We had all had so much fun that we wanted to come back. So they allowed us to buy the villa and they kept it as maintained as they could and never let anyone else inside."

"Cool," Amelia chuckled, looking out of the window. "Oh, wow… I can see the beach from here… I can see everything from here!"

"That's what I liked so much about this room," I chuckled, looking out of the window. "You can see the two pubs just down the street, over there is the surf shop, then that place there is an amazing restaurant, that building next to it is a giant arcade and then there's the amusement park and go karting track."

"Oh, my God," she said, looking closer at everything I pointed out. "This place is so cool!"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

As it had been late when we had arrived at the villa, we had all decided that we would have some food and just relax in our rooms. Amelia and I had Chinese from the restaurant down the road, Scott and Ambre had went with us but got fish and chips from the restaurant next to it, and everyone else just ordered things from the take away inside the campsite.

I had to admit the foot long hot dog Peter had wanted did look pretty good…

After we'd all eaten, we just went to bed. Four hours in a car will do that to you…

The next morning when we woke up, I smiled at Amelia nestled in against my chest. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing slowly, a soft smile on her face. I ran my fingers through her hair gently and kissed the top of her head, chuckling softly as she looked up at me with a little pout on her face.

"You woke me up," she said.

"I didn't mean to," I replied, smiling more when she tried to head-butt my chest. "Hey, I'm sorry!"

"You should be!" she smirked, getting on top of me and tickling me. Laughing, I wriggled and tried to get away from her fingers but ended up throwing her back onto the bed and getting on top of her to pin her down. I looked down at her with a grin on my face.

"That wasn't very nice, Amelia," I said.

She looked up at me, startled for a moment but then a grin formed on her face. "You weren't nice to me either," she replied. Rolling my eyes fondly, I leant down and kissed her before getting up. "Are you getting in the shower?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Why, do you want to get in first?"

"If you don't mind…"

"Go on," I chuckled.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Mum wanted us to do at least one thing together during the week before we all wandered off to do our own things with our 'partners', we all agreed that on the first proper day there that we would go over to the field and play a game of 'cricket'. Now I put the marks around cricket for a reason, simply because that despite the fact that we had a cricket bat we didn't have the wickets and never played right with the softer ball we had.

It was generally a 'who-could-hit-the-ball-the-farthest-and-if-someone-can-catch-it-they-take-over' kind of game.

The weather outside looked slightly colder than it should have been but we all still dressed in our traditional holiday best – I had put on a pair of jeans and light blue t-shirt, and Amelia had put on a pair of 3 quarter length denim shorts and a red button up shirt. Unlike me and my random Vans, she had matched the outfit with some red Converse and I wasn't going to lie about finding her really beautiful.

I lasted 4 rounds before Scott managed to catch the ball, and as he danced in victory I sighed and walked off to the side. I didn't really feel like playing anymore, which led to them all calling me a sore loser. I had to restrain myself from throwing the bat at Scott instead of passing it to him, and once it was out of my possession I moved out of the way and laid from first on the grass near the go karting track.

I hand my arms folded beneath my head and I could feel the grass tickling under my chin, but I didn't really care – the sun had come out but there was still a nice breeze so the temperature was comfortable.

Suddenly, I felt an extra weight press to my back – looking up and seeing Amelia sprawled on top of me so that we were back to back. I turned my head a little, resting it on the ball of my palm and smiling at her amusedly as she titled her head to look at me.

"Can I help you?" I chuckled.

"Nah, you just looked comfy," she grinned. We heard cooing from across the field so looked over to see Mum and the other girls grinning at his softly and making their way over to us.

"You two look so cute," Mum said, bouncing Scarlet who was giggling at us. Ambre knelt down and smiled.

"Can I take your picture of you two like that for my art class?" she asked, holding her camera and smiling a little awkwardly. "I need two variations of an image – digital editing and a painted/crafted version."

"Sure ya can!" Amelia grinned. "Right, Arthur?"

"Happy to help," I smiled.

We both 'posed' for the camera, staying still whilst Ambre adjusted her lens and shutter speed – blinking slightly at the flash but sitting up to look at the image.

It was cute, and I couldn't wait to see what Ambre was going to do with it – I'd seen her paintings before when I'd gone to their home and she was a very talented artist. Amelia grinned as she looked at it, asking for her to send her a copy of it so she could put it in a frame. I chuckled and kissed her cheek, Amelia smiling at me brightly.

It was in times like those that I realised that I would never tire of seeing her bright smile.

_**Notes:**_

**Ah, neglected stories…**

**In The Shadows should have been worked on but there's just no inspiration in me at the moment. I tend to get inspiration for this whilst playing Sims 2 :'D**

**So yeah, some formal stuff!**

**Silverwing100 on DeviantArt so kindly let me use her amazing picture as inspiration for the ending scene of this chapter.**

**Go check out her stuff because she does some amazing Nyotalia art!**

**The image can be found here:**

silverwing100 .deviantart (dot com) / art / Request-Brighter-Than-The-Sun-340433506

**I will be updating Hearts of Winter later on tonight but for now I am going to relax and play more Sims 2 XD**


	19. Transformation

**Reputation**

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Transformation**

I had never done particularly well when it came to the end of the summer holidays – it stems through the years of being totally alienated in my classes at school. It had never really been that big of an issue though, I simply got used to the abuse and went along with the pain. The previous year though was a total nightmare – I remember that, apart from random outings to theme parks or the cinema with my family, I had spent the majority of the summer at my house, either indoors or out in the back garden beside the pool. There was no one that I really wanted to keep in contact with from school (well, besides Lovina and Feliciana but they'd gone on a trip back to Italy for the summer), so I had pretty much cut myself away from the outside world. In the last two weeks of that holiday, I think I must have developed Social Anxiety Disorder as I began to feel nauseas and even had a few major panic attacks.

Luckily, with the summer just gone I had strived to be a lot more social – I'd had my week away with Amelia, took a trip to Thorpe Park with my siblings, and even went out on trips with the guys before they went off to Spain, Romania and Germany – so although I was nervous about going back it wasn't as bad as it was before.

I had a slight theory as to why I was feeling that little bit more nervous than I should be, and it was all about Amelia… Two days after we had gotten back from Devon, she had to go to Los Angeles and apart from the random talks on Skype that we could share I hadn't really seen her for the rest of the summer.

I knew that Francis and Emily were trying to do the best for her – I mean, she had gone through so much in the last year and that added to not seeing some other members of her family must have been building up on her more than she was letting me know. It hurt that she wouldn't open up to me more, but I knew that it would take time for her to get back to being herself. It was a nice idea too, taking her to where her cousins were – when I had talked with them on Skype one evening, she and Madeline were sat out beside a large pool and I could see the most beautiful view behind them… plus Matthew and Alfred fighting each other into the water, but I think that was just something that happened amongst them as the two girls didn't seem all that fazed by their behaviour.

I'd found out that Madeline, though extremely quiet, was a very nice girl – she'd been looking out for Amelia during the trip and even took it upon herself to talk to me about things that Amelia had been talking about whilst she went off to get things. I liked Madeline.

Alfred was likable in his own ecstatic way. He seemed like a kid in the body of an 17 year old – a highly muscular 17 year old. He would come over and talk to me too, joking about the weather that he could see outside of the window near me or just about general things – he had even remembered that I said I wanted to be an author and continually talked to me about how I was going about doing this, was I in contact with editors and publishers; even asking me to send him a copy of the book whenever it was published.

All in all, Amelia's cousins were nice people and I was glad she was out there having fun, even though I wanted nothing more than to just hold her close to me.

I missed her hugs and her laugh and her smile… I just missed her so much. Talking online wasn't good enough… When you have that kind of connection, a fibre optic connection wasn't really a good replacement… But I never let her on to how much I really missed her – I wanted her to relax and rebuild herself without having to deal with my stupid feelings too…

I feel that I had grown up a lot during the summer – not just in maturity, but in my body too. I was taller, that much was certain as I was now the same height as Aednat when she was in high heels (and she's 5'7 bare foot). From what Mum said when she measured my height, I was now 5'9 – not short but a good height for my age. I'd been playing a lot of video games with my family as well, and not the sit down ones either. Oh no, Peter had set his Xbox up down in the living room with the Kinect and we had to play all of those games – have you ever played Just Dance 3? If not, then I recommend getting fit beforehand because on my first go I tried to dance to a really quick song and ended up wheezing on the floor… But, I did more of that every day and worked out properly to build up my fitness – there was no way that my build would get overly muscular (not to the extent that Alfred was), but I was pleased that I wasn't just a lanky board anymore.

My style had altered too – where I started to listen to some more classic punk songs, I started to mould my style to that kind of era. So, once I had had a shower on the first day (I only had to go in for 2 hours to get my timetable and new lanyard), I had put on some skinny jeans, black Doc Martens and a tight fitting white t-shirt and black waist coat.

Thankfully, I had collected my bus pass 2 days previously so all I had to do was grab that and my house key and leave. I had no lessons that day, just a Welcome Back Day. My house was hectic what with Peter getting ready for school and my mum fussing to get out to the café and Dad trying to make sure that Aednat and Ryan hadn't left anything behind when they had left to go to Ireland to study in university.

To be honest, I had left earlier than I should have that day simply because that house (though hectic) was just too quiet without Aednat and Ryan bustling around too. It was unsettling really, just knowing that in a few months I would have to be making similar decisions for my life – but I wasn't sure if university was the best path for me…

When I got to the bus stop it was 10am, meaning that with a 15 minutes bus journey I would be waiting for an hour before I was actually needed in the classroom. But I didn't really care about that, I could go to one of the cafés or the library and just relax in the bustling environment…

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

I knew that when I got near the classroom I would be the first and only one there – and with little effort to do anything else at that moment, I sat down on the floor near the door and leant my head back against the wall. With my earphones in and my music playing fairly loudly, I closed my eyes and let myself daydream.

Well, until I felt a kick in my side.

Jumping slightly, I opened my eyes and blinked up at the sight of Lovina and Antonio – both of them having changed quite a bit over the summer holidays too. Lovina was wearing a green strapless top with this odd charm necklace, black knee-length jeans and a pair of black heals that even Aednat would have trouble walking in; Antonio was wearing a tight red t-shirt and torn jeans with some Converse, his signature Crucifix pendant dangling around his neck with his darker tan. Lovina was smirking at me slightly and I realised that it had been her who had kicked me.

"Ciao, Britain," she grinned, playing with her painted nails.

"South Italy," I smirked, earning myself another kick. Laughing, I watched them as they sat down on the opposite side of me. "Countries, really?"

"It amused me for a moment," she said, shrugging her shoulders. Antonio chuckled and put his arm around her, grinning at me.

"How was your summer, mi amigo?" he asked. "I heard that you spent a week away with Amelia."

"Who did you hear that from?" I said, feeling stupid as my cheeks heated up – I hadn't told any of them of what Amelia and I did during the summer (not that it was anything that would receive an R18 rating thanks to my mother…). Antonio tapped his nose and chuckled, so I rolled my eyes and smiled. "It was fun. We went to Devon with my family for a week before she left to go to Los Angeles for the rest of the summer."

"Oh, so you've not seen her for what… just over a month?" Lovina said, tilting her head. "That must have sucked…"

"Just a bit," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "Where's Feliciana?"

"Saying goodbye to Ludwig," Lovina said. "She should be here in 3… 2…"

"That Tunisian cleaner nearly ran me over!"

Laughing at the accuracy of Lovina's timing, I looked round to see a much more grown up Feliciana hurrying over to us on some denim heels I thought she would topple over in at any moment. She had a very cutesy style though – a floaty floral top, skinny jeans and those heels. She even had her hair down and curled for once.

"How could she nearly run you over?!" Lovina asked, looking up at her younger sister with a perplexed expression.

"She had that stupid cart with the brooms and bins and shit on…" Feliciana pouted, folding her arms. "You know she hates everyone here… The only time she's cracked a smile was when she used the wrong stuff to clean the white board during Carol's class…"

"I remember that!" Antonio chuckled. "She's weird…"

"Hey, Arthur!"

Blinking slightly, I looked round and grinned as Matthew walked over to us with his arm around Sophia – again, so much change… Matthew wasn't wearing a hoody or tracksuit bottoms – he was in jeans and tight checked shirt. And Sophia was wearing a skirt and blouse that really made the most of her curves. Behind them, a very flustered looking Lina ran up to us and kicked Antonio in the thing before dropping down onto the floor next to me.

"Ow, hey!" he winced, glaring at his younger sister who poked her tongue out at him.

"Oh man up, you wuss," she said. "Dimitri says hi, by the way, Arthur."

"So, things are going well with him then?" I smiled. She nodded.

"Yeah, he's great," Lina smiled. Shifting slightly, she made enough room for Matthew and Sophia to join us down on the floor – both of them smiling at me like they knew something that I didn't. Matthew nodded towards the doorway at the end of the corridor, so I looked round and blinked at the sight that was before me.

Amelia was one of the greatest changes I have had the honour of seeing. She was more confident, I could tell that in her walk as she strode down the corridor towards us – her hair was a bit longer, a plated hair band around her head; she had a light blue vest top on underneath a fringed waistcoat (I think that's what it was at least), and her patriotism was showing through her American flag printed short-shorts, and she also had on some pretty cool ankle length brown fringed boots.

She looked incredible – her smile was bright and genuine, her figure was just… and her long legs… Well, let's just say I wasn't that pleased we were in college or I would have done so many things…

"Hey, guys," she grinned, standing by us. Lovina grinned and nodded to her, looking her up and down.

"I love your shoes," she said.

"Oh that jacket is so pretty!" Feliciana beamed.

Standing up, I smiled at her, Amelia smiling up at me and moving closer for a hug. "I missed you so much," I said, wrapping my arms around her and kissing the top of her head.

"I missed you too," she said, nuzzling against my chest.

"I'm glad you had fun on your holiday though," I said, smiling down at her. Amelia smiled and leant up on her toes to give me a quick kiss.

"It was," she said. "Oh! And Mom had a surprise for us, didn't she, Mattie?!"

"What's this?" I said, looking between the siblings.

"She's pregnant! About 6 months now!" Amelia grinned. "We're getting a little sister!"

"That's quite a gap, isn't it?" I chuckled. "Congratulations though! That's really great!"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Eventually, we were allowed into the classroom and were joined by the rest of the group and our new tutor – Tony was the head of the media department so we knew that, despite being very funny and down to Earth, he wouldn't take any shit from us.

We learnt of new tasks that we would be going through that term like the college's first magazine, a charity event where we would design cards of our heroes and so many more brilliant things that I was certainly looking forward to getting in to.

And to make things better, the charity was a victims support charity that helped to fund groups like the one that Doctor Wang ran. So, with that in mind, our little group started to plot ways that we could make extra money for the charity through our videos and the concert idea.

When we were let go, we all head down to the car park so that Amelia and I could go to the bus stop and the others could get a ride home in Antonio's car – lots of people were making their way in and out of the college, so for a moment I got separated from everyone.

Sighing, I decided to take another route round to catch up with them but bumped into someone.

"Sorry," I said, blinking as I looked up at the guy who was much taller than me. "Uh…"

"Sorry is something you will be," said Ivan, looking down at me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, stepping back slightly – I was thankful that it was still a crowded area.

"I got kicked out of my last college because someone watched your video and was 'brave' enough to tell the principle about me 'bullying' them," he said. "So, I've been transferred here. My father has been fired from his position as a governor at the school because of you. Believe me, I will get you one day… I will make you pay for what you've done."

I honestly couldn't think of anything to say so I turned around and walked away from him, speeding up when I was out of sight and running to where I saw Amelia and the others. She looked round and smiled at me when I reached them, kissing my cheek.

"Where'd you get to?" she asked. "I looked round and you were gone."

"Oh, I got caught in the crowd," I said, telling a part truth. "Sorry."

"Idiot," Amelia chuckled, holding my hand. I chuckled, but glanced over my shoulder back to where Ivan had been… I couldn't worry her with that threat… I knew Ivan would probably try and follow through with it, but I couldn't have that hanging over her too… Not when she'd just began to be happy again…

_**Notes:**_

**And another chapter bites the dust!**

**And ain't I stinker? ;) Artie's not talking out about the Russian boy.**

**Look for AverageAsianDude's video for Carrie Underwood Just Dance 4 Good Girl to see a reference for Amelia's outfit :D**


	20. Tremble

**Reputation**

**Chapter Twenty**

**Tremble**

As soon as the first few days of college were done with, we finally got into the 2 week induction assignment… You see, in the UK, college doesn't start back up until the middle of September and in my case I started again on the Wednesday… And with two incredibly short days after that, I wasn't really that impressed with how they were organising things.

But nonetheless, when those full weeks finally kicked into gear we were all kept on our toes; Antonio, Lovina, Feli, Amelia and I got together as a group of 5 and started planning logo designs, contents pages and front covers – the task we had been set to kick start the work on the college magazine was to put forward our own ideas, to create the basic foundations on which our one would be created.

We'd been doing a pretty good job too – we got lots of designs created (thanks to Amelia's skills with all things Adobe) and Antonio and I managed to get lots of people around the college to vote on what they wanted as the name of the magazine; Student Vibe came back as a clear favourite but we knew with how picky our teachers were that it would be safe to keep the second favourite name, On Campus, as a backup.

During that whole time, the threats from Ivan were put to the very back of my head whilst I proofread and edited and genuinely took on the tasks that an editor would do. I still hadn't told Amelia about the encounter, neither did I tell any of my other friends – it just didn't seem to be that important. I mean, if I could forget about it as easily as I had through a minor distraction such as an assignment then clearly it wasn't playing around in my mind too much.

I was elated when the assignment was over and we moved into October where it was revealed that our class would be working on the very first addition of the college magazine – the other class (Matthew's class) would be taking over in February after our edition had been published online.

And naturally, I got nominated to be one of the two editors… So I had a lot of pressure put onto me to make sure that everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing when and where, had to go with people to get interviews, and I bet you can tell that I wasn't the exactly happy that I would have to chase up Liz and Gilbert for work and from the looks on their faces they were going to make this as difficult for me as they could.

Along that note, we were also seeing a fair few people had dropped the course or were on their way to doing so. More and more people were skipping class or not attending at all, meaning that the staff weren't happy and were giving all of us who did turn up grief. I had enough one day when Jane, a new teacher for a new unit we were taking on, started to scream at us all about attendance and punctuality… I looked at her squarely and said "look, we're here, they aren't! Maybe this should be said to them and not the ones that actually show up every damn day!"

I have to say, I was quite lucky that she didn't shout back at me or just give me a disciplinary as she was prone to do – but thankfully, she did lay off of us front that point.

So when October reared its head, I was very happy for the long weekend that was being presented to us. The cold weather that was lingering from the summer was starting to get worse, and I swear it was like we hadn't had a proper summer at all… I was home alone for the entire weekend – Mum and Dad were taking a trip to London over the few days to see a show and do touristy things and Peter was having another games weekend with Marcello. I never let on that I knew that Mia and Regina (two girls, one from Wy and the other from Latvia, in his year group) were also going to be there that weekend; Peter needed to make his own mistakes.

When I woke up on the Saturday morning, it was dark and cloudy outside – typical weather that suggested that a storm was brewing above me. I sighed and turned over to look at the clock, groaning when it said 7am. Why had I woken at that early time? I have no idea; maybe it was because my body clock was readjusted to college time or the weather was playing havoc with me like usual…

Either way, I got out of bed and shivered – I'd made the mistake of only sleeping in my boxers, so quickly pulled on some sweatpants and a t-shirt before making my way down to the kitchen to make myself some breakfast. It was really nice having the house to myself again, the place was quiet and slowly warming up now that I had turned the central heating on again.

I put a movie on to kill some time during the morning – that Robert Downy Jr. Sherlock Holmes film. I don't really know why, I just felt in the mood to watch some Sherlock Holmes type thing and that was closer than my BBC boxset…

When the film ended a few hours later, I was pleased to see that the time was at least a bit more acceptable to be awake at. I could have just stayed in bed, but I just have this weird quirk that as soon as I am awake, no matter how tired I am, I will not be able to fall asleep again until night time. Odd I know, but that was something that had always been a habit of mine.

Jumping slightly, I looked round when a knocking sounded on the front door – it sounded quick and shaky, and from the looks of the rain outside it was no wonder. I had no idea who could have been coming to see me at that time in the morning, so wandered through to the hallway and opened the door.

I was shocked by what I saw…

Before me was a shaking, damp Amelia… She was crying; her arms wrapped tightly around herself as if to form a shield against the rest of the world. Gasping slightly, I pulled her inside and held her close to me – pushing the door shut to stop the cold air getting in. The last time I had seen her look this distraught was when the bullying became too much for her to cope with… She clung to my t-shirt and pressed her face against my chest as she sobbed, her whole frame shaking in my arms as I tried to reassure her she was safe and okay.

"Amie… What happened?" I asked, kissing the top of her head. She couldn't speak though, all that came out of her mouth was stutters and chokes and horrible sad noises. Hushing her softly, I lead her into the living room and sat down on the sofa with her – pulling her onto my lap and holding her close as I rocked her softly and calmly. Eventually, she calmed down – her head lying on my shoulder with her forehead pressed against my neck.

"I'm sorry…" she said quietly, her voice unable to reach a higher volume at that moment.

"Shh…" I said, running my fingers through her hair. "Don't be silly… Just tell me what's happened…"

"Matthew…" she said, tearing up again. "I never… I never knew… He…"

Suddenly concerned, I looked down at her with a worried expression. "What's happened to Matthew?" I asked. "Is he hurt?"

Shaking her head, Amelia sniffed. "No… My parents are spending the weekend away like yours so Mum can rest a bit more for the baby… Matt's walked out to visit Sophia, but… Arthur, I can't go back there… I can't handle this…"

"Hey… What's this all about?" I asked, really confused now. "I thought everything was normal and okay now the court stuff's done with?"

"Ha… You really think that I have felt normal again since college ended?" Amelia said, looking up at me teary eyed. "That that summer made any difference at all? You must be kidding… I'm sorry, but that's so far from the truth it's almost funny… I know that I must sound horrible but… I've just lost the will to live again, Arthur…

"Every single day, I can feel everyone's eyes on me. I'm scared all the time. So much is expected of me – my mother, my father… They both expect me to get amazing grades, to get a fantastic job and become rich and famous and take care of them when they reach their old age… I'm paranoid constantly. I feel sick to my stomach just sitting in that classroom. I can feel eyes on me the whole time, and sometimes when I look around people are looking at me. I try to ignore it but the laughter… It chips away at me… I know it's usually just how that group is, but still… All I can hear are their mutters and laughs and it makes me think 'what if that's about me'…

"Then there's you… I love you, I do… But there are days when I can't think straight… I see you, and I question why you want to be with me… I'm broken, I'm deranged, I'm a freak… I'm everything that everyone avoids and yet you chose to stay with me… I look at my wrists… at those faint scars… and it all comes back to me what I did, how you looked… I think I hurt you more than I hurt myself that day… but then that hurt me further still… I'm constantly watching what I say, picking my brain to make sure I don't hurt you… cos if you were to ever leave, I don't think I could carry on…

"But then imagine it… one of the people that's meant to care for you unconditionally snaps… He shoved me aside into the wall to get away from me… but I followed him into the living room and he laid into me… Not physically… I wish it had been… No, mental… verbally… For 3 hours, he shouted at me about every single flaw I have… What's wrong with me, why people tend to hate me so much… why Mom and Dad spend so much time away… He says it's because I cause them too much stress… He said that me being around just reminds them how much of a nuisance I've been… He even said that he's surprised Mom's not lost the baby with how much stress I've put her through… He pointed out things I already thought about myself…

"I felt as though I was going to be sick… but I never cried… He walked away and stormed out of the house and just left me there on the floor… I just collapsed to the ground… I couldn't move or… or talk… I just broke down… Matthew walked out and left me there to cry…

"I don't blame him though… I don't deserve to live… I don't have a purpose. I swear, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here right now… I'd have ended it that day and saved everyone the grief of my presence… I am just this big black cloud lingering over my family's house… I feel like everything I touch dies… He's always been in my shadow… Even in bad things… He's put up with so much of my successes and failures that no one really took any notice of his… I hate that I did that to him… I hate that I even exist…

"I feel so out of place… everywhere… When I look at my Mom and she looks at me… There's so much disappointment in her eyes… There will be days when she will smile at me and everything will seem normal… But then she remembers… Dad too… I can't go back there… Not just yet… Can I stay with you for the weekend, please? I don't think I'd be able to cope if I went back there…"

"Of course you can stay here," I said, holding her closer. I was genuinely surprised by everything that she had just said to me, I had no clue that she still felt like that… And as for Matthew… Well, I was very close to finding him and kicking his arse but knew that would likely make Amelia feel even worse.

"Can I lie down?" she asked quietly. "I tired myself out running here…"

Without another word, I laid us both down on the sofa so we were on our sides facing each other. She looked at me surprised, but then nestled in against my chest, her body pressed flush against mine. She felt so small, like everything had just been thrown at her again. I wanted to ask why all of this had come around again but deep in my heart I knew the answer – Matthew took a lot for his sister, but he was never noticed himself. He was always in her shadow, and coming from large family like mine I kind of understood how he felt. It gave him no right to talk to Amelia the way he did, but I was reserving total judgement until I'd heard both sides of the story.

She was still very cold and damp, her frame shaking against mine as I held her close. I ran my fingers through her hair, feeling small droplets brushing against my skin. She never looked up, she never shifted, she merely held onto me and keep her eyes closed. I knew that I had been pretty hot during that morning despite the cold, so she must have been finding the warmth she needed through my body heat.

"Come on," I said softly, sitting up with her. She looked up at me in confusion, but I simply helped her to her feet and led her towards the stairs. "Mum's got a hair drier and brush in the bathroom and Aednat left some clothes behind that you can borrow. You're about the same size so they should fit."

"Oh, Arthur… You don't-" she began to say but I cut her off.

"You're soaked and freezing," I said, pulling her upstairs. "I'm not letting you catch pneumonia."

Amelia looked up at me, but didn't argue any further as I let her go into my bedroom and sit on the bed. After I gathered everything she would need, I left the room and let her go on with getting ready. I waited downstairs for her, turning on Peter's Xbox and flicking through with the Kinect to see what game he had left in the console.

Just Dance 4…

If it wasn't because we all played it, I would wonder why he had so much interest in this game. But it wasn't all bad, I guess… I enjoyed playing it too, even just to play up to the songs. On a visit, Ryan had dared me to dance to Call Me Maybe – I agreed if he'd dance to Superbass. It was insanely funny – we even convinced Scott to dance to Maneater and Aednat to Livin' La Vida Loca. Bryn was classic though; we had downloaded Part of Me, and he agreed to dance to it. He made it through and was close to 5 stars, but still… Peter enjoyed playing along with our adverse dance choices, picking Mr Saxobeat.

Basically, my family has a peculiar sense of humour.

"Just Dance 4? Really?"

Jumping slightly, I looked round and smiled at Amelia as she walked into the room looking a hell of a lot warmer than she did earlier. She came and stood beside me, grinning.

"Well, if you're going to dance, you gotta let me join in too," she said.

"Okay okay!" I laughed, loading the game properly and letting the Kinect pick us both back up. "Pick a song."

"Gangnam Style."

She said it so suddenly and without hesitation that I had to look at her to realised that she was indeed being serious. Chuckling, I scrolled through the choices and found the downloads.

It was a good thing that I was fit because from how much we were both laughing, I don't think I'd have been able to get through the dance any other way. We were both trying so hard to get the moves right that whenever we looked at each other we just saw the competitive emotions on our faces which led to the laughter...

"Okay, what song now?" I asked, running my fingers through my hair to try and part the hair to try and release some heat from the top of my head.

"What's that blue one?" Amelia asked. "With the girl with the pink hair and the guy with the bow tie?"

"Uh…" I didn't actually know, so scrolled along to the one she was pointing at and brought up the preview. It was One Thing, a One Direction song…

"Oh! Can we dance this one please! Please, please, please!"

"…Fine," I said, loading it.

Though I wasn't really a big fan of One Direction, I had to admit that this dance and song was pretty catchy. The interaction that characters were having on the screen were being mimicked by myself and Amelia, you could tell that alone this dance could be funny – but in this moment, the dance was actually rather romantic when the characters got close together.

At the end of the dance, she had to twirl and press against me – we were both breathing deeply, looking into each other's eyes. We were stilled immersed within the feelings of the dance; it was as though to two characters on the screen were us, and without my knowledge my arms were wrapping around her more intimately. She, in turn, wrapped her arms around my neck to draw herself closer to me – I leant down and pressed my lips to hers, humming slightly as she kissed me back.

My hands splayed across her back, smoothing up her spine. She made a soft keening noise, pressing closer to me as the kiss started to become a little more intense. One of my hands made its way into her hair, massaging my fingers against her scalp.

Pulling back from my lips, Amelia took a deep breath and looked up at me – I looked down at her and in an instant I knew where I wanted this to lead… but I wasn't sure if she wanted the same…

"Amie… I, uh…"

"… It's okay," she said softly. Blinking slightly, I gave her a questioning look which she responded to with a kiss. "I'm ready."

Nodding, I took her hand and gently led her back up to my bedroom – honestly, it was every teenaged boys dream; I was home alone with the girl I loved and she had just agreed to have sex with me… Cloud nine couldn't even compare to this; yeah, I was still conscious of her past, but that was just it – the past. It was still technically her first time – she told me he hadn't gone that far. It was mine too – I mean, no girl had shown any interest in me before Amelia… I was the scrawny nerd, what girl would want me?

Shutting the door behind us, I let her walk over to my bed and sit down, joining her once I had made sure anything we'd need was in reach. She looked at me and smiled softly when I cupped her cheek, closing her eyes as I did as when we kissed again. Her hand rested gently against my neck, her body moving closer to mine as we started to get lost in the growing intensity of the kiss again.

I lowered her onto the bed slowly, her legs spreading to allow me to settle between them as we remained connected. I started to kiss down her neck, humming as she ran her fingers through my hair and scratched my scalp lightly. I got to her shirt and carefully pulled it off of her, leaving her in her bra. Oh, how I wanted to pull it off there and then but I waited and opened her jeans to take them off to. My hands fumbled slightly and we chuckled softly and nervously.

I looked up at her. Her cheeks were a rosey pink colour and her hair was starting to get messy. I wondered what I looked like in her eyes, probably a nervous idiot… I got her trousers open and gently pulled them down, feeling her lithe hands working my t-shirt and sweatpants off.

"Wow…" I said softly. We were laying there in only our underwear and from my perspective I had the best view in the world. Amelia was absolutely beautiful, her curves visible to me in such ways I had never got the chance to see before… I leant down and kissed her again, enjoying the feeling of her soft fingers sliding down my back towards my waist band. Her fingers hooked under the elastic and gently pulled my boxers down – though I was incredibly conscious that I was now naked before her, I thought it only fair… She watched my boxers fall off the edge of the bed before looking over my body, her breathing starting to deepen as she took all of me in. I was definitely conscious now, but she leant up and kissed me – arching so that I could work on her bra…

I had never had to work out a bra strap before… so needless to say I fumbled miserably when I tried to unhook it. She chuckled softly and kissed my neck reassuringly, comforting me until I finally got her bra off and onto the floor with my boxers. To save time, she slipped out of her knickers and laid on the bed bare before me. I looked over her body and dipped my head down to press light kisses over her stomach and chest, hearing her gasp and keen when I touched certain areas.

Reach over to my desk; I pulled a condom out from my underwear draw – shuddering slightly as Amelia timidly wrapped her fingers around my penis and stroked. I fumbled as I opened the packet, but as soon as it was out she let me go so that I could put it on.

It was definitely an awkward experience, our first time. We moved together, but I couldn't help but think I was hurting her when I initially began to press in. She winced and made a pained noise, but moaned for me to continue when I paused.

Every first time is awkward though, I would imagine. It was certainly an enjoyable, intimate moment though. We totally forgot the rest of the world, it was just us – no pasts, no problems, no threats, no campaigns… Just us making love… It sounds soppy and cliché but how can you describe it without being obscene? When it was over, I was sated and calm – I pulled my bed covers over us and held Amelia close. She made no motion of wanting me to pull out, rather she moved close to me and locked me there as we fell asleep.

_**Notes:**_

**So, I was in the swing of things again and then failed miserably…**

**I'm sorry for a week without an update but I'm starting fresh this week! I hope this extra long chapter makes up for it :3**

**I threw a lot in there:**

**~ Amelia and Matt's argument: on the Wikia page, it says in the comic Canada was the only one who ever really hurt America and made him cry by spending 3 hours telling him all his flaws. I love this in a horrible way so incorporated into the story.**

**~ Just Dance 4: everything is invalid until you play this game. Just do it. I love it to bits and had to make a reference.**

**~ THEY DID IT. Do I need to explain it? Yes? Time heals all wounds, she's been in therapy, time is moving on. **

**Look out for the next chapter soon!**

**SPOILER: It involves Ivan.**


	21. Sunset

**Reputation**

**Chapter Twenty One**

**Sunset**

Mum knew.

I knew that she did by the way she looked at me when she and Dad got back from their trip Sunday afternoon. Amelia and I were sharing the recliner in the living room, my arms were around her and her head was on my shoulder – we were simply watching TV, but even I could tell that our body language around each other had subtly changed.

We were closer – her actions easy and natural, mine gentle and protective. She was content to curl up beside me, letting me run my fingers through her soft blonde hair. I'd forgotten about the world and got quite the shock when the front door opened and my parents came inside.

Dad paid no mind to us – he simply smiled, said 'hello' and started hauling their suitcases upstairs to their bedroom. Mum was on us in seconds though. She looked at us carefully before sitting on the sofa, her expression serious.

"Were you two safe?" she asked – I went bright red from the bottom of my neck to the tips of my ears; her tone was so nonchalant she could have easily been talking about the weather.

"Mum!" I spluttered, far too embarrassed to truly believed that she had just done that. In my peripheral vision, Amelia was bright red too – Mum raised her eyebrows expectantly, our mortified expressions being enough confirmation on her suspicions. Taking a deep breath, I knew that I had to say something or she wouldn't leave us along. "Yes…" I muttered.

"What did you use?" she pressed. I really was close to killing her at that moment. I mean, did Scott have to go through this? Or Bryn, Ryan and Aednat? My God, did she question Aednat about what Joshua used or force her to go onto the pill the moment she turned 16? Well, it didn't really work with Scott or he wouldn't have Scarlet just yet… But, come on! I wasn't as stupid as she thought I was! I knew condoms were only effective 97% of the time, hence why Amelia was protected too. She'd been on the pill since before we had met – some medical reason or something, she needed it as something more than just protection.

"I only asked because I don't want the pair of you doing something you'd regret," Mum said softly. "Scott and Ambre had the resources to be able to care for Scarlet… But if that were to happen to you two… I'm sure Amelia's mother would agree with me. She's another good example! Her baby is due soon, but she and Francis are more than capable of caring for her."

"I get it, Mum," I said, smiling at her. I really just wanted her to shut up and leave us alone, but I would never tell her that. "Believe me. I get it."

"And me," Amelia smiled. "One day, I'd want kids – but when I know that they can be cared for."

Nodding, Mum seemed content with us finally; getting up and leaving the room with a smile on her face. Amelia looked at me with an amused expression on her face – and I was grateful for her growing ability to find humour in the most embarrassing of situations.

I, on the other hand, was still working on that…

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

She stayed with us for one more day. I had fun despite the constant embarrassments from my mother. It was if she had found some peculiar little game that she enjoyed playing and refused to play anything else – and that game was 'Find Any Way To Embarrass Arthur In Front Amelia", and she held the high score.

There were times during that weekend that I really wanted to shout at her – she taped a condom to my bedroom door, kept calling me baby names and telling Amelia 'amusing' stories about me. A couple of times, Dad took her out of the room and I could clearly hear him telling her that she had gone too far; and if Dad could tell that she had done something wrong then that is telling you just how bad she was – he never got involved unless absolutely necessary.

I was really starting to question whether I was actually still wanted in my house anymore. I was almost 18 years old; I was legally allowed to leave home at 16, and from how I had felt back then I would have gone to find somewhere else to live… But Mum said that I should stay at home… I was getting mixed signals now though… How she looked at me recently… how she spoke to me… I couldn't help but think that she regretted ever telling me to stay at home… She never gave me a 'goodbye' or say 'see you later' when I left to go to college on the Tuesday morning – she'd stayed upstairs getting ready to go open the café. I'd gone upstairs to say 'bye' myself, but she just nodded without turning to look at me.

Amelia could tell it was playing on my mind as we walked to the bus stop so held my hand tightly. I appreciated the gesture – it reminded me that I was at least wanted somewhere in this world.

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked quietly. I knew she was trying to repay me for the times that I had listened to her crying, all the things that she had ever entrusted me with. And I knew that I owed it to her to show her the same trust, but…

"I wouldn't know what to say…" I replied, sitting down on the cold metal bench under the bus shelter. Giving my hand a squeeze, she sat beside me and gave me an imploring expression. She wasn't going to give up on me. "I don't think I'm wanted at home anymore…" I sighed. "I'm the first of my siblings to do something different… creative… Mum never wanted me to go into Media or Music or Writing… But I took the media course up because it was something that _I_ wanted to do. I was good at something that my siblings weren't! Bryn had a natural affinity to become a vet. Scott was always tinkering with things… Aednat and Ryan were all over the place… Then came me… I wanted to see the world! Travel! Learn stories from around the world and share them with the rest! Media gave me the path to enhance my writing…

"All I have ever wanted to do is make my parents proud. But by being myself I have not done that… They're traditional, you see. They may not seem it what with my mother's business and my father's high work and naivety… But they are set on those old ways. They want me to get a job, find a wife, have kids… I've done nothing but worry them though… With the rumours going around about you at the time they found out I was friends with you, they thought that I was getting into some deep trouble… That all changed when they actually met you though...

"My siblings have chosen paths that got them out of the house at 18, they are working towards careers in university, have stable relationships, Scott even has a child now… What are my plans? Apprenticeships? Publishing? I'm going to start looking for places to live, because I don't see me being allowed to live at home for very much longer…"

Out bus pulled up before Amelia could say anything about my revelation – apparently from her expression she had not been expecting it to be quite as deep seated as I had been letting on, but that was something I was good at… I could take not of how my parents had ever behaved towards me and link it to how they were now… and that usually led to the right conclusion as to how they were going to act…

I made Amelia get onto the bus first so that she could go grab the first set of double seats that she could get to. I showed my pass to the bus driver and made my way to the seat beside Amelia – she looked at me but still didn't know what to say.

I didn't mind though. Just getting it off of my chest had made me feel marginally better than I had done before.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Matthew was sat outside his classroom waiting to be let inside when we walked around the corner into the media block. I could see Sophia at the technician's office just down the hallway; I supposed she was getting the key to open their classroom door. Amelia slowed sown as we got a little closer to our classroom; I could tell that she was nervous – she hadn't seen or spoken to her brother since their argument, and knowing her she was probably more nervous he could hate her and shout at her again rather than being angry at the foul things he had said to her.

I'd made a silent promise not to kill him until he'd explained himself, but seeing him was just making it very difficult to keep that promise. He was bigger than me by a fair few inches – he was about 6"1/6"2 in height, and with Amelia being shorter than me by an inch or two… Well, I could help but imagine how he must have towered over her as he shouted… It made me madder.

I mean, how betrayed must Amelia have felt? She'd had a year of abuse from teachers, other students and strangers from across the globe, with the thoughts that (other than myself) she had Matthew to unconditionally turn to. But then he threw it back in her face like that!

He looked up when he heard our footsteps, looking directly at us as we stood outside our classroom. I was about to say something to him when Sophia came over with Perry the Techy to open the doors. It must have looked like one of those God awful Western movies – where the two cowboys stood at either end of the dusty streets of the old rundown town, hands itching to get to the pistols at their waists first. Without a word to anyone, Matthew got up from the floor and went into his classroom once Perry had opened the door. Amelia looked heartbroken, to say the very least. She watched as Sophia gave her an apologetic look then followed the older twin inside, the doo r shutting with its usual snap but sounding so much harsher than usual.

"Let's just get inside…" Amelia muttered, walking into our classroom before I could do anything more than blink.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Oh, how I hated Tuesdays now… They were too long with too little in them. 3 hours from 9am for the morning session, a 3 hour break, and then 2 hours until 5pm for the evening slot. We had made our way through the first 2 hours – all we needed to do was get through the hour of tutoring then we could leave and go to get some food. We'd made a deal with each other – we'd all pay Antonio £5 to help out with his petrol costs and every Tuesday we'd rotate which place we'd go to get food. That week we were going to KFC. Amelia perked up at the reminder.

I would just be grateful for the escape from that bizarre campus. The smell of smoke lingered everywhere thanks to the amount of people who thought that smoking made them look cool. I was one of the minority that didn't want to buy cancer. People walked around looking like tramps, but apparently that was the fashion these days… Hair scruffy and died various shades of purple and pink, and God awful patterns on coats and jumpers making them look as though they'd just spent a week on the streets. Then there were the greasy mop-heads that looked like they'd been avoiding the barber and the shower for 5 years. The disabled got mocked as usual, the obese… the emos… And of course there were the 'glamorous' people – the girls with so much foundation on their faces they looked orange, died hair, nails primed to claws and eye make-up so thick it was debateable whether they could really see at all.

I looked down at Amelia as we walked to Antonio's car, smiling at the breath of fresh air she was. She was just naturally pretty. No, beautiful. Her hair was shiny and wavy; her skin smooth, clear and not oil; and her eye lashes were so thick they never needed make-up.

"What?" she asked, looking up at me with confusion evident on her face. "I chuckled softly, putting my arm around her shoulders and holding her against me. "Arthur?"

"I'm just feeling happier," I explained ambiguously. "You make me feel so much better, you know."

She blushed, the cute dusting of pink on her cheeks making me smile even more.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Matthew and Sophia came into the restaurant just as we were given our food. At first Amelia ignored him because of his behaviour earlier; she never looked at him fully, just edgy glances as she made her way to a table.

However, Matthew made his way over to us – his sole focus on his younger sister. She looked up at him, staying close to me nervously just in case he tried to do anything bad again.

"Amie," he said, his voice as quite as usual and shaking slightly from nerves. "I… I am so sorry… What I said to you was disgusting and I understand if you never want to speak to me again… I was foul to you… 3 hours of insults… Who does that? To anyone! Let alone their younger sister…"

"Shut up," Amelia said, all of us watching in slight surprise at how she cut him off. "Join us, okay?"

Matthew blinked slightly, grinning as Amelia's lips curled into a natural smile – a true one she rarely gave anyone other than myself. She had admitted to me that she even gave her family fake smiles, so Matthew had finally broken through the barrier that had built up between them. He rubbed the back of his head and smiled.

"We would but really just came to find you…" he said, giving her an apologetic look. "We've got class in an hour until 3, remember? That's why I'm always home before you."

"Oh, I actually didn't know that," Amelia said. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him. "Oh well. You'll have to come out with us another time then, Bro. No excuses."

"Sounds good to me," he said, kissing the top of her head before heading out with Sophia and leaving us to eat.

Sometimes I thought that Amelia could be too forgiving – I mean, she had forgiven Liz for all the hassle she'd given her, but in that case it was to prove she had the higher ground. She could hold a grudge if she so wished to, but that was exactly what Liz wanted her to do. I guess it didn't really matter all that much that she was so forgiving – it just meant that she could see past what people had done wrong to her and move on with her life.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

I was ready for bed by the end of the day. It was no joke either – I was totally wiped out spending 2 hours looking into what makes you a good freelance Graphics designer. I was sick and tired of this assignment already so was working through it as fast as I could so that I could spend those lessons doing something that I actually wanted to do.

Like nap…

I zipped my jacket up as I walked down the hill with Amelia to the bus stop, looking around as the streetlights started to come on because of the darkness that was surrounding the area again. The traffic on the road leaving the college, going down the hill and across the T-junction at the bottom of the hill was amazingly bad that evening – I was glad that my bus would be coming along fairly soon and Amelia's would be alone even sooner than that.

We crossed the road carefully, dodging around the car the decided to speed up at us when we started to walk across the road. With a sigh, we walked up to the bus stop and stood around – but I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me. There were other people at the stop so it must have just been someone looking at the new comers as everyone usually did.

Soon Amelia's bus showed up so I gave her a kiss goodbye and watched her get on and take a seat, waving as it drove away and I lost sight of her. There were now 4 people at the bus stop including myself. It was starting to get colder so I rubbed my hands together and breathed hot air on them to try and keep them as warm as possible – rummaging around in my pocket for my bus pass as the bus I needed made its way down the road and stopped in front of us when one boy held his arm out to signal we wanted it to stop.

I got on and showed my pass, sitting down in the first seat I got to and sorted my stuff out – paying no mind to anyone else already on the bus or making their way onto it. I looked out of the window when the driver started our journey, waiting until I saw the right area before pressing the button to turn on the stopping sign. Slowly, the bus pulled up at the stop I needed and I got off after thanking the driver. I paused for a moment when I stepped onto the pavement to make sure my house keys were where I could get to them easily, listening as someone else got off of the bus after me. I paid no mind though.

Until they held my shoulder.

Surprised, I turned and looked round to see who it was – my eyes widened as my green locked with vivid purple. Ivan sneered down at me and tilted his head, his lips curling into a sickening sweet smile that turned my stomach.

"I told you I would get you," he said, and before I could respond his other hand was balled into a fist and had collided with my jaw. I made a pained noise, stumbling back slightly. He chuckled sadistically, aiming a kick at my stomach – catching me just right and winding me. I regained myself quickly though and started to defend myself, but Ivan was twice my size in height and muscle… I got in some well-aimed kicks and punches, but could do nothing as he grabbed hold of my throat and lifted me off the ground. I choked, clawing at his hands to try and get him to release me, but it was no use.

"Now," he smiled. "I will not miss this time."

I was confused for a moment, until he threw me out into the road. I had enough time to get to my feet and look round at the blinding light heading for me – but that was all I had… I cried out as the fast, heavy metal collided with leg, my body rolling up the bonnet of the car and half way up the windscreen. The driver braked so suddenly that the momentum shocked through my damaged body and sent me rolling down again until I crashed to the floor. My head collided with the hard floor just as hard as it had the car and I rolled slightly until everything went black.

_**Notes:**_

**And this, kids, is why you should always tell on bullies and be prepared when travelling on the bus.**

**God damn it, Ivan! You crazy, boy!**

**I'm not giving away anything that happens next :) You guys will have to wait and find out!**

**This would have been uploaded yesterday but shit happens and you have it now :D**

**Later, Broskis!**


	22. Mad

**Reputation**

**Chapter Twenty Two**

**Mad**

Mom and Dad looked at me with such relief when I walked through the front door after college. I honestly couldn't remember the last time they had ever looked at me with such want before – it was a long time ago really, likely the last time I wandered off alone in the mall when I saw a funny man dressed up as a clown doing magic tricks outside one of the big clothes stores.

I dumped my bag on the floor beside the shoe rack as I walked through the front door, blinking as Mom hurried to me as fast as her baby-bump would allow her. She held my cheeks as she had done when I was child and pressed a firm to my forehead – I didn't understand what was going on or why Dad looked the way he did as he followed her out and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked, looking between them with confusion. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see Matthew sitting at the top of the stairs, looking down at us slightly sadly. "Dad?"

"We're just glad you've come home, ma chère," Dad said, smiling down at me. He saw me glance to the stairs, turning his head slightly to look up at Matthew whose expression darkened with guilt. "Well… when we came home from our trip the other day, Matthew let us know what had happened between you…"

"You weren't answering your phone or anything…" Mom said, smoothing her hands over my cheeks. "We were worried about you."

"I'm sorry," I said, looking down. Mom tilted my head up and smiled at me.

"It's okay," she said. "We've talked to Matthew and he said he talked to you today about it. And if you're both okay now, then we are too. Though Matthew's not allowed to play hockey for a month."

"Which I've agreed to," Matthew said, finally coming downstairs and smiling. Dad clapped his shoulder and smiled at me. "I really am sorry."

"It's okay," I smiled. "I spent the weekend with Arthur."

"Oh did you now?" Dad said, a hint of a smirk in his tone. I blushed as they all looked at me – it was like when Arthur's parents had walked in and his mother had started to tease him all over again, only I was on my own here. I could tell that Mom was getting worried about me again, so smiled at her reassuringly.

"Does it help if I say we were safe?" I asked.

"Yes," Dad said before Mom could make any other comments, pulling her away from me before she could start the third degree. This left me alone in the hallway with Matthew, my older brother smirking at me with his arms folded across his chest in a smug stance.

"Oh piss off," I said, nudging him. He laughed and put his arm around my shoulders. "Like you and Sophia haven't done it already!"

"Oh, we have," he smirked. "I just wasn't sure when you would. Sooner than I was betting."

"Dick!"

"Was that how you begged him?"

"FUCK YOU!"

"AMELIA, LANGUAGE!"

"Sorry, Mom…" I called to her, rolling my eyes so that only Matthew would know. He chuckled and shook his head, moving over to the stairs again. "I bet you're gonna be murder to live with now you can't play hockey for a month."

"Just possibly," he chuckled, running his hands through his hair. Some people thought that he needed to cut his hair, but I thought that it suited him. "But, I deserve it. What I did to you was the biggest dick move in the world."

"I told you it's okay now," I said, moving over to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and nestled my head under his chin liked we used to when we were younger and upset with each other; he wrapped his arms around me and rest his head down on mine in response.

Dinner soon followed before we all settled in the living room to watch some TV and relax. It was around 8pm. However, the phone began to rang so being as nosey as children we let go of each other and walked into the room just as Mom lifted the device up to her ear. She looked at us, Dad looking at her in confusion as no one ever called us at that time. Mom's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her free hand as she listened, her dark brown eyes flicking to me occasionally as she listened to the voice on the other end of the line.

I was getting really worried now – just what was being said to make Mom react like that? And why did she keep looking at me like that? Eventually, she put the phone down and motioned for us to sit down – she looked saddened and serious, and I didn't like it. She made us sit down when someone had died… Like Grandpa…

"Mom, what's going on?" I asked, looking at her pleadingly to tell us the truth.

"Amie…" she said. "That's was James calling."

"Arthur's dad…? Why…?"

I was sat beside her so she took my hands gently and squeezed them. "They're at the hospital… Arthur was hit by a car at the bus stop near their house and got taken to intensive care… They said he's… pretty banged up… They've not been told all the details yet but as far as they know he's not woken up yet…"

My eyes widened as she spoke, my hands trembling in her grip as I tried to process the information that had just been given to me… Arthur was in hospital after being hit by a car… He'd been feeling depressed that morning… He felt so lonely and… I never thought that it could be that bad… Of course it could have just been an accident but my mind was overloading with thoughts…

"I have to go see him," I said resolutely. "I have to know he's okay."

"I know, Sweetie," Mom said, pulling me close and kissing my head as my eyes became cloudy with tears. She smoothed my hair, looking up at Dad who knelt down on the floor and put his hand on my knee – even Matthew moved to sit next to me. "Do you want to go now? Or tomorrow…?"

"Now!" I sobbed, getting to my feet.

"I'll take her," Dad said, looking at Mom and Matthew. "Do you want to come too?" Matthew nodded and got to his feet, but Mom stayed put.

"I'll stay here," she said. "Save space and stress."

"Okay, Mom," I said, kissing her cheek before running to the door. Nothing really mattered to me much in that moment, all I cared about was getting to the hospital to see Arthur.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

The evening traffic meant that our journey to the hospital took us almost an hour, and the whole time I was sat in my seat fidgeting and playing with the hem of my shirt. I was picking at the stray bit of thread that were unravelling from the hem of the shirt, twisting it around my finger until I felt it start to cut of the circulation.

My eyes were trained to the outside world, trying my hardest not to cry as we got closer to the building. I took a shuddering breath as we pulled into the car park, wasting no more time and bolting out of the car. I ran into the building and looked around, hurrying through the corridors and following the signs that would take me to the spot that would hold the waiting room they said they would be in.

I could hear Dad and Matthew calling out to me, running too, but I wasn't going to stop for anyone and anything. Soon, I came to a halt outside the waiting room – looking through the window at the distraught family inside…

Liz was sat in a chair with her head in her hands, sobbing into them as Scott kept his arm tightly around her shaking frame. James was pacing around the middle of the room, Ambre watching him as Peter distracted Scarlet from the whole situation. Slowly, I opened the door and peaked inside to make my presence known – they all looked up and smiled sadly at me, Dad and Mattie as walked into the room and over to them.

Liz got up out of her seat and walked over to hug me, and for a moment I thought I was going to break down again. She was still trembling as she hugged me, so I wrapped my arms around her tightly and closed my eyes.

"He's gonna be okay," I said, and in the back of my mind I knew I was trying to convince myself too. "Arthur's tough. A lot tougher than people give him credit… Were you told what happened?"

"We can explain."

I blinked and looked to the far area of the room that was out of sight of the door where there were 3 more people – 2 police officers and a very shaken looking young woman, the latter I assumed was the driver of the car.

"These are PC Santiago Carriedo and WPC Bella Martens," James said.

"You're Antonio's dad?" I asked, blinking in surprise at the tall man. He certainly looked a lot like Lina though. "He told us you're a swim coach…"

"I volunteer at the rec centre," Santiago smiled. "He just doesn't like saying my real job in case it gives him trouble."

"Oh."

"Anyway, we've been talking to Miss Perry here, and she's told us exactly what she saw earlier," Bella said, staying next to the trembling Miss Perry. "There was someone at the bus stop holding Arthur by his throat, and before she got the chance to break he threw him out into the road."

"He looked at least 6"3," Miss Perry said, looking at us all. "I'm so sorry…"

"We've already said, it's not your fault, dear," Liz said, looking at the woman gently. "You weren't intending to hurt my son, but that beast who threw him did…"

"And we will do everything we can to find out who did this," Santiago said, looking between myself and Liz.

After they left with Miss Perry, we were joined by a very worn looking doctor – the man looked at us for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Well, we have stabilised him," he said. "Arthur is in the other room, but he's gone into a comatose state… He's broken his right wrist, his left leg and a few ribs, and fractured his skull. He'll likely have a concussion too but we are keeping a close eye on him. There was also some slight internal bleeding but we dealt with that before it became too serious. Unfortunately, there is no telling how long he will be unconscious…"

"Thanks, Doc," Scott said, watching as the man walked away before looking to his parents. "We'll stay out here if you want to go in and see him."

Liz nodded, her arm still around me as if for support of herself, and looked down at me. "You can come in with us if you want."

"Thank you," I said, looking back at Dad and Matthew before heading into Arthur's room with James and Liz.

To say we were shocked was an understatement…

I stopped moving all together as I saw the state Arthur was in…

There was a bandage around his head, a cast on his arm and leg and under the hospital gown I could see the bandages wrapped tightly around his chest to protect his ribs. His arms, face and collar were all covered with scratches and bruises of various shades – and in his mouth was a tube that was likely helping him to breathe at that moment. The heartbeat on the monitor beside his bed was slow and steady and I had no idea how to react.

"Oh, Arthur…" Liz said, moving to beside his bed and holding his hand carefully. "My poor baby…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

The next day, I refused to go to college and from messages I got from my teachers that day in my emails they understood completely. Everyone had been made aware of what had happened to Arthur, possibly as a means to find out who could have done this to him.

Mom and Dad were busy and Matthew was going in to find out from everyone else what they knew, so that left me to wander up past my old school to get to the bus stop that Arthur usually got… The irony of it was it was the only buss on route to the hospital…

I'd got on the first bus that arrived and sat waiting nervously as it went along at what seemed like a slower pace than usual – I knew that it was only me anxiety that was causing it to seem like that, but the more conscious I became of it the more it felt the bus was slowing down…

Once I had gotten to the hospital, I walked through the corridors until I got to the little waiting room – Scott was at class, Ambre was looking after Scarlet at the café, Peter was at school and James was at work. Even Liz had gone to the café, knowing that dwelling on this would only make the pain grow more intense – but they had stayed there the entire evening, only leaving when I said I was going to visit him knowing that he wasn't going to be left alone at least…

I sat down beside Arthur's bed and held his hand gently, smoothing my thumb over the skin. I hated seeing him like this… It was like he had become a shell, the person there but… not…

"God, Arthur…" I muttered. "Who did this to you?"

A few hours passed in near silence, the only sounds that could be heard were the passing nurses, the ticking of the clock and my soft mutterings as I spoke to Arthur. I had read somewhere that a coma patient could hear the voices of those around him, and I wanted him to know that I was still there, that he was going to be okay and that no one going to hurt him anymore…

I felt so useless… He had done so much to help me and yet I couldn't think of a single thing to help him in this situation. Just as I was starting to get just that little bit more depressed, the door opened so I looked round to see Matthew, Sophia, Antonio, Lovina, Lina, and Dimitri sneaking into the room. I smiled a little at them all, watching as they went through the same initial shock at Arthur's state as I had last night.

"Dad told us it was bad but…" Lina muttered, leaning against Dimitri as the Romanian boy put his arm around her shoulder. "I had no idea it was like this… Oh, my God…"

"How are you doing, Amelia?" asked Lovina, moving over to sit beside me. "We didn't do much in college today… Everyone was so shocked about Arthur, Laura and Rodney just let us have free time…"

"I've been holding up…" I replied, smiling a little. "He's not done anything though…"

"Antonio and Lina told us what happened to him," Sophia said. "Do you know just who this guy is?"

"They took the woman away to question her about the guy's appearance," I said. "And from what they said, he's 6"3 in height, quite muscular, had silver hair and purple eyes… Oh, and for some reason he had on this odd scarf…"

Sophia blinked, shrinking a little. I narrowed my eyes a little, everyone looking at her in confusion to her reaction.

"Sophia?" asked Matthew, looking down at her. "What is it?"

"There's only one person who fits that description…" she sighed. "My brother, Ivan…"

It took me a moment to recognise the name. "Ivan… Ivan as in the guy that bullied Arthur and got called out in that video Ivan?" I asked. "The guy who… threw him into the road only Arthur managed to get out of the way of the car in time… Of course…"

"Ivan transferred to our college after being kicked out of the last one he was in," Sophia explained. "He wasn't even in the same area as us… And he came home later than usual last night covered in bruises…"

I looked down at Arthur's knuckles and saw the bruises there. "Clearly, Arthur thought back before the car came…" I muttered. "The other day he seemed like he'd seen a ghost! Oh, it all makes sense now!"

"I didn't know this would happen…" Sophia said, clearly scared we were mad at her.

"Don't worry, Sophia," I said. "But Ivan had better watch his back now."

_**Notes:**_

**I wasn't going to make this easy on you guys XD**

**So, here we have a short switch to Amelia's POV! Next chapter will be too, but that's as much as I'm saying :D**

**Oh, and as much as Santiago is (craply named) a totally made up person. Bella Martens is my version of Belgium. Just because.**

**Until next time XD**


	23. Thousand

**Reputation**

**Chapter Twenty Three**

**Thousand**

When I wasn't sitting beside Arthur's bed, I was looking for that monster. I knew that I really shouldn't have been doing so; I knew that he could kill me easily as he was twice my size, and I knew that I should leave everything to Antonio's father. But the thought that someone was still out there living their life without fear of being punished whilst Arthur was still lying in a coma in hospital just made me so angry.

I wasn't going to try and fight him if I saw him – all I wanted to do was ask him why he did it? How did he think that pushing Arthur in front of a car would be the best solution to whatever problems he was in?

I knew that even then there was a chance that I could get hurt – from how Sophia described her younger brother, there was definitely a screw loose inside his head somewhere. Before they had moved to England to be a part of that International Project they had been moving between Russia, Belarus and Ukraine – and their time in Russia wasn't the most pleasant. Their father was a very harsh man – he punished them for doing the slightest things wrong and was particularly harsh on Ivan.

She told us one afternoon whilst we were sat in Arthur's room about how their father was looking for a transfer out of that country to somewhere warmer, but they were so isolated during that time that she watched her younger siblings become as cold as the weather they were enduring. I was surprised that she had remained so sweet – but I knew from things Matthew had told me that she could have a temper if pushed too far. Her siblings became so terrified of the outside world when they were finally allowed out that they both broke – Ivan, somehow, turned into a great monster threating all those to be 'friends' with him, whilst Natalya wanted to remain isolated with only him…

I felt truly sorry for the Sophia – I knew she must have been running from her family history for so long, but with siblings as deranged as hers… It must have been rough at home for her.

Arthur had been unconscious for 2 weeks – all through half-term and over the first week back at college. It was a truly sad time as I stood in the corner of the room on the fifth of November watching as his mother and father wished him a happy birthday – saying that it would be happier if he were to wake up. He had barely made it to 18 years old… But from how the doctors were starting to talk, he might not make it much further.

The cuts and bruises were slowly healing as he laid there motionless in the bed, the deep reds fading to flared pinks and dark purples turning slightly green and blue. He still had the bandage around his head, his arm and leg and ribs… He was still broken, but there was nothing I could do that could fix him.

I felt so utterly useless… I wanted to do something to help him or bring that bastard to justice – I hated it. I hated it so much! Arthur had pulled me out of the darkest time of my life and gave me something to be happy about; he had managed to bring a smile to my face when I thought that I would never be able to again, and he had built my confidence back up so that I was finally comfortable in my own skin again.

Anyone who has lost someone will understand what I am talking about when I say the emptiness I was feeling was the most numbing sensation I had ever felt. When I thought about him lying alone on the cold floor, his body broken and bent in ways it shouldn't, his vision black and all sounds stopped… The fear he must have felt… I felt like I could throw up, but nothing would come up.

I never wanted to leave his side – I didn't want him to be alone for a second even though he was asleep. I just couldn't stand the thought of him lying their motionlessly in the dark as the nurses walked around with their clipboards making sure that patients were okay – though he was in a private ward and there was rarely any change to his status.

What if Ivan came in and tried to finish him off whilst he was vulnerable and alone? It's been known to happen before – people sneaking into hospitals to try and finish off the job. No one would suspect a 17 year old boy, right? He could say he was a friend, wandering right on in and take away all the things that were keeping Arthur alive.

I must have been starting to hyperventilate - I was being held by Antonio as Lovina held a brown paper bag to my mouth, the pair trying to calm me down as the rest of the class were sent out of the room. Mike came over to us and knelt in front of me as I was helped down onto the floor so I was closer to the ground…

We were in our final lesson of the week – Friday's 11am-to-1pm Graphics session with Mike. I had to admit, I hadn't really been taking that much care of myself – I hadn't been eating properly and the stress I was feeling for Arthur was sending me insane. I must have looked incredibly pale and withdrawn, and as soon as I could breathe again… I simply broke down… Mike shifted forwards and put his arm around me, shifting me from Antonio to himself – glancing at the Spanish-Italian couple to go have a break.

I sobbed, letting out all of the emotions that I had been bottling up that fortnight – I shouldn't have done so, I know, and I don't know who I was putting the brave face on for… Myself most likely as the others just seemed to know I wasn't right. No one questioned me though because they didn't want me to be in this state… But I was now anyway…

"It's okay, Amelia…" Mike muttered to me, getting me a tissue. I really did like Mike – he was a very considerate and kind lecturer, and (unlike the other guy) I felt safe with him. "I know these past 2 weeks can't have been easy for you… But Arthur is going to be okay…"

"I'm s-so s-s-scare he won't wake up…" I cried, taking the tissue from him but not being able to use it just yet. "How they keep talking… It's like he's dying…"

"Nurses and doctors always talk like that…" Mike said. "They did so when my colleague collapsed last year… But he's back in and teaching. Arthur will be on his feet again in no time."

I nodded slowly, calming myself down enough to be able to dry my eyes. Helping me back up into my seat, Mike handed me a plastic cup filled with cool water – I looked round and saw Antonio and Lovina stood by the door smiling at me a little, both clearly worried about me more than I had realised. I sniffed and smiled at them gratefully – I was very, very pleased to have found friends like them. I sipped the water and watched as the others made their ways back into the classroom; Elizabeta and Gilbert sent me horrible smirks, both sitting down at their computers to continue working on their playing cards – I hated that they thought of me as weak still, but in that moment I felt totally helpless. Arthur had been my rock that past year; he had stood by me when others were turning against me and saved me when I tried to end it all.

And here I was sipping water and drying my tears doing nothing as he laid unconscious in a hospital bed.

Lovina took her seat beside me again and pulled me into a hug, not caring for the looks we were getting. She wasn't one for hugging so this was a major thing for her. I closed my eyes and pressed my face against her shoulder, letting her smooth my back and mutter comforts to me.

It helped for a time.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Things had calmed down again by the time 1pm came around, though I was still getting smirks and sniggers from Elizabeta and Gilbert. Honestly, the pair were nearly 21 years old and they were acting more immature than Peter.

I logged off of the computer after saving my work to my memory stick, packing everything away in my bag and watching as Antonio and Lovina did the same. Feliciana bounced over, smiling at me as she babbled about her chosen hero for her card – she had chosen to do her card about Isabella d'Este – and she was questioning me about my card.

I knew it was a tactic to get my mind off of things, but it was working.

I explained my card idea to her, smiling at her genuine interest – my card was of Amelia Earhart. As I looked around the room, we all had seemed to pick significant people from our countries' histories. I knew Arthur was planning to do his card on Winston Churchill…

"We're heading out if anyone wants to come," Antonio said, waggling his car keys at us as a hint to say 'decide now, I'm driving'. Feliciana nodded and walked over to them, but I shook my head.

"I'll have to take a rain check," I said, looking out the window at the cloudy sky. It was threatening to rain, as was custom to that area, but I just couldn't be confined again.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his expression filled with concern.

I nodded. "I'll be fine," I smiled. "I just feel like taking a walk home. The fresh air will do me good."

"Fine," said Antonio, putting his arm around Lovina as she watched me anxiously. "But I want you to have a rest and eat something before you even think of going to visit Arthur again, okay? He wouldn't want to know you've been ill."

"Deal," I smiled. "Now go."

I watched them leave the room together, all having to step aside as our tutor Tony came into the room. He talked to Mike for a moment, both of them glancing over at me as I picked my bag up and went to make my way out of the room.

"Amelia, could you hang on a minute please?" asked Tony, making the last few people in the room look at me as they made their ways out. I nodded and watched as Mike left too, an easy feeling settling in my stomach. "I wanted to see how you were doing. Mike let me know about the… incident in class earlier."

"Oh," I said, sitting down as he motioned to the chair near his. "I've been… holding up… I just got a bit overly stressed today…"

"I know you're worried about Arthur, but you can't neglect yourself in his absence," Tony said, looking at me gently. I nodded and looked down a little. "You're a bright girl, Amelia. It'd be a shame for you to lose out because of stress."

"I'm trying," I said quietly, wiping my eyes again. "I'm just so worried about him… He was pushed on purpose…"

"I know," Tony said, handing me another tissue. "We were made aware of the situation the day after it happened." He looked up at the clock and smiled at me. "Look, you head off and relax this weekend and come back in refreshed on Tuesday, okay? Who knows, Arthur may actually wake up in that time."

"I hope so," I said, smiling a little. "Thanks for talking to me, Tony."

"It's what I'm here for," he smiled.

Nodding, I stood up and walked over to the classroom door and made my way outside again. I walked around the outside of the building, letting the cool fresh air fill my lungs. It was a nice feeling, the damp that was starting to filter through the air causing a nice refreshing feeling start to surge through my body.

Heading down the hill, I repeated the steps I had the last time I had seen Arthur awake. It was sad really, remembering back those two weeks back to that dark night – he had kept his arm around me the whole time we had walked down the hill, laughing as he had to pull me out of the way of an on-coming push-bike. I had almost tripped him into the woods before we got to the road, and as I looked at the cars zooming past I had to steel myself before stepping out into the road and rushing to the island as another car sped past.

I made my way the whole way across and started to walk up the hill, looking around myself carefully – I didn't trust anything whilst I was alone; not anyone on the bus, not drivers on the road, and not the people walking by me on the pavement. It was a horrible feeling, not trusting people but who could I trust whilst this situation was going on. My friends obviously, but the public? No.

I had cash on me, some earnings from my own job – I worked Saturday afternoons in the local library; I sorted books, checked things in and out and read to the littler kids that were often left in our care whilst their mothers and fathers went to do their shopping. It was roughly the same hours as Arthur, so sometimes I would walk home with him to his but more often I would go to the bus stop and get the bus back to my house. It was good money too - £5 an hour every time I worked, so every week I'd get £22.50 for my Saturday plus any additional if I took on shifts during the week.

Needing a pick me up of Pink Lemonade Lucozade and bubbly chocolate, I made my way across the road again and up the next hill to the hypermarket. I was quick with my purchase and started to eat the bar as I made my way back down the hill to continue my trek home. But as I crossed the road that connected to the roundabout and the way into town, I saw something that made my heart skip a beat.

I knew from Sophia's description what he looked like – and she was very accurate. Ivan strode up the pathway that led from town just as I was getting across the road, not looking at me but whistling contently to himself as he looked at the clouds. I stared at him in shock, stuffing my chocolate back in the carrier bag as he glanced at me and smiled a sickeningly sweet smile, his purple eyes glowing almost acidicly.

"It looks like it might rain, da?" he said.

"Ivan Braginski?" I said, standing my ground. He looked me up and down before nodding his head. "I have some questions to ask you. About Arthur Kirkland being thrown in front of a car."

He laughed. "Oh, now I recognise you! You're that wimp's girlfriend."

"He is not a wimp!" I snapped, glaring at him. He raised his eyebrows and stepped towards me.

"You're too pretty to be going out with a loser like that," Ivan said, smirking at me. "But of course you'd know about his incapacity."

"Because of you," I said.

"Da, but he brought it on himself."

"Why did you do it?!"

"Because he lost my father his job, got me expelled from my last college and was being a pest," Ivan said, his eyes glowering threateningly at me. He was stepping ever closer to me, towering over me darkly. I could feel the rain starting to fall, so started to back away from him a little. He grabbed me by my throat though and held me off the ground – I clawed at his hand and tried to break free but he was holding me so tightly I was beginning to choke. "Unfortunately, you must join him now I have told you the truth."

"DROP HERE, BRAGINKSI, IT'S OVER."

Gasping slightly, I winced as I was thrown to the ground roughly – looking over I saw Santiago and Bella, along with a few other officers fighting Ivan to the ground. Behind them, I saw Antonio by himself. He edged around the arresting officers and the thrashing Russian over to me, helping me to my feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking at me seriously.

"I'm fine," I said, rubbing my neck and coughing slightly. "A little shaken… but okay. What are you doing here?"

"I'd let Dad know about what Sophia had said and all about Arthur's confession and the stuff with the school," he explained. "I'd dropped the girls home and was heading back up to the hypermarket to get some snacks for my family's movie night and saw him. Dad was keeping a tail on him anyway, and when they saw you and heard him… Well, you know the rest."

"Thank you," I said, looking over at them as they took Ivan to the police car. "You're a life saver."

"I don't think Arthur would be too happy with me if I'd let you get murdered by that psycho," he smiled. We looked up as Santiago came over to us, the man looking at me gently.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I gave him the same response as I did Antonio, the boy nodding to his father that I really was fine. Santiago smiled. "Well, we got him. That confession and the attack on you should be enough to get him some time in prison. Whenever Arthur wakes up, he can give his evidence too."

"That's great," I said. I couldn't help but feel bad for Sophia though, knowing that her younger brother was going to go to prison must have been weighing on her every day…

"Hold on…" Santiago said, unclipping the radio on his belt and holding it. He answered whoever was trying to get hold him, smiling. Once he was done talking, he looked at us both. "We've had someone posted by Arthur's room to make sure he was safe," he said. "And they've just told me he's improved. The doctors think he might wake up any hour now."

_**Notes:**_

**Was it worth the delay?**

**I sure hope so :D**

**Been busy this week or it would have been uploaded on Tuesday. But life.**

**Love you guys!**


	24. Outside

**Reputation**

**Chapter Twenty Four**

**Outside**

Voice kept flitting in and out of my head, but I could move a muscle or make my voice heard no matter how loud I shouted. I was stuck in a deep, black hole – I was blind, unable to see where I was or what was going on. My body was broken in ways that I had never experienced before, my limbs unable to move without feeling sharp stabbing pains and agony without description.

And in the background, a faint steady beeping noise could be hear – high pitched but easy on the ears, just audible from the distance it seemed to be away from me. I could never really make out the words that much – occasionally, I could hear Amelia's voice, just the tone of it whispering to me through the dark… My mother, father, Scott… My friends, they were all there from time to time, but I just could speak to them…

I had no idea why, but the words just wouldn't leave my mouth. The thoughts were there in my head, long deep apologies, the want to hold Amelia as I felt damp hit my hand as she talked. There were other voices too – deep voices, high voices, panicked voices and calm voices, voices I couldn't put a face to a name.

Time seemed to stand still as I laid there in the dark with nothing but my thoughts and pain – it was an experience like no other and one that I wouldn't want anyone else to go through. I could still remember those vivid purple eyes staring at me with bloodlust, the strength of those hands that held my neck and the coldness of the tarmac as my broken body crashed down onto the floor after being turned into a marionette cut from its strings.

But then something started to change – a light was forming in the distance, small and bright and like a beacon from heaven. I was scared, I didn't know what this light was going to do or whether it was good or not. My imagination was still alive and working through the dark, all the memories of stories that told of the light at the end of the tunnel, the light that would take you to the other side… I didn't want to leave the dark if it meant that I would be taken away from Amelia further – that thought alone was more paralysing that the pain that had riddled me for so long. I promised her that I would be there for her, and I wasn't planning on breaking that promise.

I had already done that by not telling her about Ivan, by letting that monster put me in this state and leave her vulnerable too… I could tell I had hurt her by the tone of her voice as she talked to me, the tightness of her hands as she gripped mine like a lifeline.

The light was getting closer, increasing in size as it moved towards me but there was nothing I could do to get away – my body was too hurt to try and run, and I didn't think that I would be able to move my legs even if I could…

Closing my eyes now that I knew they were open, I grit my teeth as the light finally met me and when I opened them again, I was stunned by the sight before me.

I was lying in a hospital bed, wearing one of those awful gowns that they made patients wear with pads stuck to my chest, tubes and wires stuck to various parts of my body and a tube in my nose.

I groaned, looking around the room towards the source of the beeping that had followed me from the hole – my eyes following the green line of the heart rate monitor as it sped up a little as my natural anxiety took over.

There were bandages and casts all over my body – wrapped around my chest, on my arm and leg. Fading bruises littered my pale skin as well as a scratches and cuts that were turning into puce scars. Groaning again, I tried to sit up but hissed in agony as my chest screamed in defiance. Okay, so that wasn't a very good idea – moving wasn't going to be that easy for a while it seemed. Taking a deep breath to keep myself calm, I looked around the white room and found that I was totally alone – it was dark outside the window, early evening it seemed, and from looking at the clock I found that it was 6:45pm.

This only heightened my confusion – I had been hit by the car at that time and the day didn't look that different… With no idea what was happening and no knowledge of how I had even gotten into a hospital in the first place, my pulse was starting to increase in pace until I realised that there was talking outside.

The blinds of the window on the inside wall were partially open so I could see outside – Mum, Dad, Scott, Ambre, Scarlet, Amelia and, to my surprise, Antonio were all out there, a doctor was talking to them but I couldn't quite make out their expressions. They were sad, worried and other things – and even from this distance I could make out the dark circles under Amelia's eyes.

It was only when the doctors moved slightly that I realised that there were police officers outside with them too, and I had a feeling I knew why.

I didn't have much longer with my thoughts as the ward room door opened, a tall male doctor walking into the room and looking at me as though he hadn't expected to find me awake. A smile spread across his face as he walked over to me, checking me over before writing on a chart at the end of the bed.

"Hey, Arthur," he said, and it was only now that I was trying to focus again that I realised that he was fairly young – a little older than Scott if I were to guess his age. "My name's Doctor Ryan Dorian, do you know where you are?"

"Doctor Dorian?" I asked, smiling a little though my voice was hoarse from lack of use. "Like Scrubs?" This made him chuckle. "I assume I'm in a hospital, but which one I wouldn't be able to say."

"St Mary's," Dorian smiled, sitting beside my bed. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

"I was pushed in front of a car," I said, lying back and looking at the ceiling as the memories came back to me again. I took a deep breath to keep calm as the beeping increased again, glancing at Dorian.

He nodded. "I know this is going to come as a bit of a shock, but you've been in a coma for the last 2 weeks…" he explained, my eyes widening at the surprise but also my stupidity at thinking that it was the same day. He went over my injuries with me and checked things over again to make sure that I was as okay he thought I was. "Before your family comes in, there are some officers outside that need to ask you about what happened that night. Do you think you can handle that so soon?"

"I'll be fine," I said, smiling at him a little. He nodded again and put my chart back on the end of the bed and left the room, leaving the door open for two officers to walk into the room. One was a woman – average height, blonde hair and green eyes; the other was a man with brown hair, tanned skin and olive eyes.

"Santiago?" I said, blinking in surprise. He smiled and sat next to my bed with the woman. "I thought you were a swim coach?"

"I am," he chuckled. "But this is my main job. You okay, Kid?"

"I'm okay," I said, smiling.

"Well, you know who I am, but this is my partner WPC Bella Martens," Santiago said, nodding to the woman. She smiled and sat too with a notebook on her lap ready to take note of what I said. "So, what happened that night Arthur?"

"I got off of the bus and went to go home, but… but Ivan Braginski attacked me," I said, looking at them. "He beat me up and I tried to defend myself but then he threw me out into the road… That's all I remember…"

"That's all we need to hear," Santiago said, getting to his feet. He looked at my confused expression and smiled. "We'll let Amelia explain."

Nodding slowly, I watched as they left the room and swapped places with my family – Mum rushed over to my side and held my face softly, pressing kisses to the top of my head as tears streamed down her face.

"Oh, Arthur," she sobbed. "My baby, oh, I'm so happy you've woken up!"

"I'm so sorry, Mum," I said, reaching up and holding onto her sleeve. She looked down and smiled at me, smoothing my cheek and kissing my forehead firmly. I smiled back and allowed her to find comfort in her movements, looking round as Dad stood the other side of my bed and put his hand carefully on my shoulder.

"How're you feeling, Son?" he asked, smiling at me and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Sore," I said truthfully, blinking as Scott handed me a cup of water for my throat. He smiled at me and ruffled my hair carefully, something he hadn't done so lightly since I was 4 years old. I smiled back and sipped the water, feeling my throat loosen slightly. I looked passed them at Ambre and Scarlet – the blonde smiling at me and the child smiling and waving giddily. I then looked to Antonio who nodded to me and stepped forwards.

"I wanted to come in and say welcome back to the world," he said, chuckling a little. "Dad's waiting for me, so I'll see you later okay?"

"Thanks for coming," I said, grinning a little. He walked out to where his father was waiting, so I finally looked over at Amelia. She was stood a little way back, letting my family have their time with me – but I could tell from how her arms were folded around her waist and the way her eyes were trained at the foot of my bed that she wanted to come over. I looked at my family, sending them a silent plea for a little privacy for a moment. They nodded and went out into the waiting room again, leaving Amelia and I alone. She blinked as she realised they were going, watching them for a moment before looking at me and moving over to my bed when I held my unbroken hand out to her.

No words were exchanged just yet, just the simple gesture of me entwining our fingers together as she held my hand. I gently pulled her to lie down on the bed with me, putting my arm around her and letting her cry against my neck. My ribs were hurting slightly, but as I looked down at her to kiss her head my attention was taken by a dark bruising on her neck.

"Amie… what happened to your neck?" I asked tentatively. She looked up at me slightly nervously but then sighed and sat up beside me, running her fingers through my hair.

"I saw Ivan on my way home today…" she said, my eyes widening as I looked up at her. "He confessed everything to me about what had happened to you and tried to kill me..."

"WHAT?!" I shouted, trying to sit up but wincing as my ribs screamed out again. "Ah… Fuck…"

"It's okay though!" Amelia said, making me stay down. "He was arrested there and then and Santiago just needed your statement to throw the book at him." I nodded. "Speaking of which, why the fuck did you not tell me about his threats?! Why did you keep it a secret for so long? How could you?"

"I'm so sorry…" I said, reaching up and holding her cheek softly. "I really am… I didn't want you to worry… I'm sorry…"

She closed her eyes and leant her head down on mine, her frame shaking as she tried not to cry as I could tell she had done on more than one occasion that past 2 weeks. "I worried more when that happened to you…" she said, holding me. "I was so scared I was going to lose you, you ass! I don't know what I would have done if you never woke up…"

"Shhh, shhh…" I hushed softly, smoothing her hair and pressing a light kiss to her lips. "I'm so sorry, Love… If I could turn back time… I would… But I can't… But I am so sorry… I love you so much… "

"I love you too, idiot," she said, kissing my head again. "Welcome back…"

_**Notes:**_

**Aw yeeesss.**

**Welcome back to Arthur's POV. Our lovely Brit is finally awake! **

**Come back again soon for the next chapter! :D**


	25. Winter

**Reputation**

**Chapter Twenty Five**

**Winter**

I was very grateful for my ability to heal quickly. I spent one extra week in the hospital, getting physiotherapy and rehabilitation to be able to go home. I had to spend one more week at home though – so I was constantly being sent work to do so that I was kept up to date with the rest of the class on the tasks we were doing. They all made sure that I had plenty to go over for the magazine – sending me lots of documents for their articles for me to proofread and edit.

Amelia came to visit me every day – giving me the work, catching me up on whatever happened that day and generally just lying on my bed with me to keep me company. It was nice and cosy for once, especially as the colder weather was moving in. She kept saying to me that she thought that it was going to snow soon but I always replied that snow in this country was more likely to happen during the summer holidays rather than on Christmas Day.

She was adamant that it was going to happen though.

Because there was very little point in me going back for but a few days, I was signed off of college sick up until the Christmas holidays began. I kept getting emails from Amelia on the final Thursday of the year – we didn't have the Friday lesson, which gave us that little bit longer for the holiday. It was the 20th of December, our holiday starting later that year thanks to the Diamond Jubilee celebrations giving us a longer summer. I was able to walk now without crutches and the casts had been removed from the limbs that had been broken – I loved having that freedom to be able to move around the house by myself again, even though I was still a little sore.

Peter had finished school the day before college ended, so he was in his bedroom playing on his Xbox swearing at his friends worse than I did when I was 14 years old. I listened to him from outside his bedroom door; taking note of the diversity of swears that he spewing into the microphone of his headset. I wondered just what came he was playing until he started calling out the Russian's.

Ah, the ability for underaged kids to get video games like that never failed to astound me.

I had been in bed awake that morning listening to the bustle of my parents trying to get ready for work – Mum had been heading to the café later than she usually would just to make sure that I was okay until I had to 'shout' at her to get her to stop mollycoddling me… I loved my mother dearly, but sometimes she just didn't know when I was okay to be by myself.

And that day wasn't today in her book…

I heard her go to Peter's room and wake him up, telling him that he had to keep an eye on me and make sure that I didn't hurt myself or strain myself in any way shape or form. I mean, Peter was doing a fantastic job clearly but Mum couldn't put that kind of pressure on him. It was totally unfair on the pair of us – I didn't want to have to worry about my younger brother looking after me and he shouldn't have to worry about me or look after me.

I wasn't going to say anything though – Mum was just worried about me. That was all. I knew that she meant well. So, I simply went downstairs carefully and got myself a drink before sitting down on the recliner and turning on the TV.

Oh how I hated day time TV. The mindless drone of hapless presenters trying to entertain the ill, the lazy and the housewives… I hated listening to them talking about fashion, sex, news, gossip and topics that were really quite awful.

_I divorced my husband because he wouldn't play out Fifty Shades fantasy._

Kill me now.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

I fell asleep.

I hadn't realised that I had done so until I woke to the feeling of soft fingers brushing through my hair. I opened my eyes slowly and looked up to see Amelia sitting on the arm of the recliner, smiling at me gently as she caressed her fingers through my hair.

"Oh, so you've decided to join me in the land of the living, have you?" she smiled, leaning down and kissing me chastely. I returned the kiss and smiled up at her, sitting up and rolling my shoulders to get rid of the tension that had built up from my awkward sleeping position.

"Well, I had nothing else to do," I chuckled, stretching before pulling her onto the seat with me.

"You know how your mom will be if she sees us like this again," warned Amelia, though she didn't try to move away from me. Jokingly, I wrapped my arms tightly around her waist and smirked.

"Is she here?" I asked.

"No…"

"What time is it?"

"1:30…"

"Then she won't be back for hours yet," I said, nuzzling my nose softly against the soft skin of her neck. She shuddered slightly, holding onto me as I started to press soft kisses along her neck. Soft keens started to escape her lips, so I pulled back and chuckled quietly earning myself and soft smack on the arm.

"You're an ass," she said, smiling nonetheless.

"So, it's still not snowed yet, huh?" I smirked. Amelia rolled her eyes and kissed my cheek, but then sighed and leant her head against mine.

"No…"

"It will at some point," I smiled, smoothing her hair from her face. "At some point…"

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Christmas Eve was hectic – over the past couple of days my siblings had made their ways to our house again from university. Bryn was back in his room, Aednat in hers and Ryan in hers. Scott was at his house with Ambre still but they were constantly visiting now that Scarlet was old enough to realise what was going on around her. She was nearly a year old already – a thought that scared me more than it really should have.

She was starting to crawl more, trying to explore around the parts of the house she had seen when she was younger now that she could actually get to them. This meant that Peter had to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't get into any trouble – and of course, I had to keep an eye on Peter to make sure he didn't let her get into any trouble.

To add to the drama that was happening around the house, the volume had started to increase again thanks to the multiple voices of my siblings Skyping their significant others who had gone to their own homes for the holidays.

Though Mum had made it painfully obvious that she wanted everyone in the house to help out that day, I snuck out with my backpack to get some fresh air from the claustrophobic environment. That was the one thing that I hated about Christmas – the sheer lack of space. Everyone was in your face and noisy – and for the most part for my family – they ended up drunk by the end of Christmas Day…

So, I started to make my way to the only place that I could feel moderately sane. I knew that I wouldn't be able to stay round there for very long, but I still hadn't given Amelia my Christmas present.

I looked around as I walked; my hands in my pockets because of the cold – there was still no snow, but I didn't care. It was cold enough as it was… I was glad to finally have the freedom to go outside again – I was nervous and jumpy as cars sped past me, but I was okay. Ivan had been sentenced, we had made a video at the end of the trial to explain what had happened to me and say that people shouldn't be scared to speak out against their bullies – mine took an extreme turn but I stood by my actions.

But that was something else that I was trying to escape from – the constant asking of how I was, apologies for not coming to see me in the hospital, questions about what happened and threats to 'beat that bastard' into next week. It was overwhelming to say the very least, but I didn't want to seem ungrateful of their support…

I got to Amelia house and heard Christmas music coming from her bedroom window. It was very loud so I had a feeling that her neighbours were not very happy with them at that moment in time. Chuckling amusedly, I went up to the front door and rang the doorbell – watching as someone all but danced towards me.

Holding back my smirk, I looked up at Francis as he opened the door and looked at me happily – tinsel was tying his hair back and he was wearing a flour covered apron.

"Ah, Arthur," he said, smiling cheerily at me. "Come in! Come in! Amelia is in her room finishing wrapping her presents to us!"

Nodding, I followed him inside and took in a deep breath as I smelt something delicious cooking in the kitchen. The smell filled my nostrils and dazed me for a moment, my attention only being brought back into reality when I heard Francis chuckle at me.

"You like the smell of my Christmas Cake?" he asked, watching me closely as I nodded sheepishly. Never did I ever really trust anything made by the French, but I had to admit that the smell was amazing… "It is a family recipe. Passed down from father to son for generations of my family. One day I shall pass it on to Matthew, but for now they must endure my takeover of the kitchen."

"He says endure like it's a bad thing," Emily chuckled, looking out from the kitchen and smiling at me. She was very big now – her little girl (Arianna) was due by the end of the month. They weren't certain when as the date kept changing, and everyone kept saying she was likely to be late… I just hoped there were no complications – I liked Emily, and she was very important to Amelia.

"You look well," I said to her, nodding my head slightly in respect of the woman. It was a habit I had picked up from my grandfather when he was alive, like the tipping of a hat to a lady. She smiled at me and came over to give me a soft kiss on the forehead before returning to the kitchen with Francis.

Welcomed, I made my way up the stairs and looked around at the place – it had changed slightly since the day I had gone there with Ryan and found Amelia sobbing and bleeding on the bathroom floor. New photos had been added of each of their baby scans, photos of holidays and even some of myself were up on the wall with Amelia – it was a nice sentiment that I had been welcomed into their lives like that, and I hoped that I would help to add to their memories for years to come.

The first room that I came to was Matthew's – his door was open so I could see him lying on his bed focused on a video game, swearing to himself and hitting his thumbs against the buttons of the gamepad like his life depended on it. I chuckled silently and moved on before he noticed me watching, coming to Amelia's room with its shut door and loud music blaring from the inside.

I knocked on the door and waited for an answer before entering, ducking as a screwed up wad of wrapping paper was thrown at me from by the bed. Blinking over at her, I watched as Amelia smirked at me from across the room – shutting the door, I ran over to her and pinned her down on it; we laughed as she struggled against me, but she made no real effort to get away.

I leant down and kissed her softly, pulling her to stand up again as we pulled apart. She chuckled and kissed me back before smiling up at me and tilting her head.

"How come you're here?" she asked. "Surely you should be at home with your family."

"This is the last time I'll see you for a few days," I responded. "I've not even given you your Christmas present yet."

"Oh…" she said, smiling softly. "You didn't have to do that… You didn't go out when you were recovering to get it."

I shrugged nonchalantly, not answering her properly – I had indeed gone to get her present whilst I was recovering at home. I was given enough sick pay to be able to get my presents for my family and her whilst my parents took me out in the God awful wheelchair we'd been given to help get me out and about.

Rolling her eyes at me as she knew very well that I was avoiding the subject, Amelia decided to let it go, beaming as I handed her the neatly wrapped present. She set it down on her desk and opened a draw, pulling out an equally neat present and handing it to me.

"Now don't open that until tomorrow!" she said, putting it into my backpack for me to stop the temptation that she could see forming on my face. I chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, Ma'am," I grinned, holding as she jumped me and sent me toppling onto her bed. She laid on top of me and laughed, pressing her nose lightly to mine and rubbing. I smiled and pecked her lips casually, content for the first time in days.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

After Christmas was over and done with it came to the time that we had all been waiting for for months.

January 3rd meant the wedding of Scott and Ambre.

Because of her lack of family, Ambre had asked for the girlfriends of each of her fiancé's brothers to be her bridesmaids as well as Aednat. So whilst Amelia, Ruby, Rochelle and Aednat were at Mum and Dad's getting ready with Ambre and Scarlet, the guys were at Scott's house getting into suits.

Dad had left as soon as he was ready to go get to the house in time as he had agreed to walk Ambre down the aisle – a small gesture that Ambre cried in gratitude about due to her own father not attending the wedding thanks to that whole "we're-disowning-you-for-getting-pregnant-so-early" business.

Prick.

Bryn had been made Scott's best man whilst Ryan, Joshua, Peter and I were the ushers. It felt nice being a part of something so big and great, and with everyone being included as part of the family.

I was worried about Amelia though – she was worried about her mother as she still hadn't gone into labour yet. I kept trying to tell her that some people were just late – I was a late baby; I was due on the 29th of October but Mum was so late they had to induce her and I was born on the 5th of November.

Scott was more nervous than I had ever seen him before – his hands shaking as he tied his tie and his knees quaking through his trousers. We had teased him to wear a kilt, but he said no because he 'would need his nuts later'.

I'd kill him if I got another niece or nephew before he finished his university course, and I think Mum and Dad would too.

When we got to the church, we stood outside and talked to the vicar and greeted the guests from the various parts of our family. Aunts and Uncles that we hadn't seen in years, Scott's friends and Ambre's too, the one grandmother I had left from my mother's side of the family, godparents…

It was truly overwhelming, especially when it came to directing people to their seats inside the church. The Vicar kept coming up to me and joking – he was a young man, a bit older than Scott, so he was acting like an extra brother towards Peter and I.

Soon, we too went to our seats, but kept standing as we heard the music start to play - I looked behind me and watched as Ambre walked down the aisle holding Scarlet (who was dressed in a tiny blue dress to match the bridesmaids), her other arm linked with my father's arm, who looked proud of her as if she were his own.

I was speechless at the sight before me – they all looked beautiful:

Ruby's short curly blond hair had been tamed enough for the diamantes, her blue eyes matching the dress and the jewellery and make up making her glow.

Rochelle suited blue as usual, her dark skin making it stand out brighter – her long dark brown hair curled and hung over one shoulder.

Aednat had never looked prettier – she was paler then the others, but pulled the look off just as only she could. Her long red hair was styled like Rochelle's.

Finally, Amelia… Oh, my, Amelia. She glowed amongst the others – a soft smile on her face framed by soft lipstick. Her hair was curled and left to fall as it usually did, diamantes glittering amongst the curls like Ruby's. She looked stunning.

She smiled at me as she took her seat next to me, holding my hand as the ceremony began.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

Everyone applauded as they kissed, the 'I will' from each of them echoing through the church. It was a sweet and tender moment, only interrupted as Scarlet laughed and clapped too.

I had to hand Amelia a tissue as she was crying slightly; pressing a soft kiss to her cheek as she shuffled a little closer to me on the seat, I put my arm around her and helped her up as we had to leave the church behind the new husband and wife.

After a short journey, we had made it to the building where the reception would be held – we were treated to an extremely nice meal before the disco began and the majority of my family started to get plastered…

Not feeling in the mood to get drunk – plus the fact it wouldn't be fair on Amelia as she wasn't 18 yet – I went outside onto the balcony of the reception area and looked out over the lake. It was a beautiful sight, the sky clear of clouds - a dark canvas littered with glittering stars.

I looked round at Amelia as she joined me outside, taking my jacket off and putting it over her shoulders so she didn't get too cold out there. She smiled and looked out at the water, leaning her folded arms on the cool metal banister.

"It's been a good day," she said.

"It has," I replied. "I've never seen Scott look like that before."

"Ambre was beautiful."

"So were you," I said, kissing her softly on the cheek. She blushed – though I wasn't sure if it was the cold bringing out the colour in her cheeks. I closed my eyes and groaned as I heard the music change, resting my head down on my arms – they were drunk and dancing to Gangnam Style… Oh, I wished that fad would die out…

I heard Amelia chuckle and rub my back soothingly so glanced at her and smiled softly.

"Do you… Do you ever think we'll have something like that?" she asked quietly, taking me by surprise.

"Yeah…" I replied in the same tone. But the more I thought about it, the more confident I felt of the idea. "Yes, I do. I don't know if you do, but… I wouldn't mind that being you in the white dress one day…"

This time she really did blush, looking up at the stars. "Almost one year since we got together and we're talking about marriage…" she laughed. I did too. "At least you're not one of those guys who are afraid of commitment."

"No, I've always had it drummed into me about marriage and stuff," I chuckled. "It won't be for a while, you know. We need a chance to live and be ourselves first, learn more about each other… But one day, if you'll have me…"

"We'll see," she said, winking at me. I laughed and nudged her, looking down at her purse as her phone started to ring on the inside. She looked down, getting the device from her bag and looking at the caller ID. "Matthew?" she blinked, answering it. "Mattie? What's up, Bro? What…?! Really?! Awesome! I… I, yeah! I'll see when I can get there! Tell her I love her, okay? See ya."

"What was that all about?" I asked when she hung up and put her phone back.

"Mom's gone into labour!" Amelia grinned. "Arianna is coming!"

_**Notes:**_

**Lots of words! **

**Lots and lots!**

**And I'm still reeling from feels thanks to Tabaotsi… Seriously, if you like Fem!Romano, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural then check out her blog asktheitalianslayer on Tumblr.**

**Friend promo over, it's my turn to hit her with the feels (I hope ." )**

**Love you all greatly, hope this is okay! See yahs!**


	26. Diamond

**Reputation**

**Chapter Twenty Six**

**Diamond**

The news came as such a surprise to me that I almost slapped myself back into reality – I shouldn't really have been as surprised as I was to hear that her mother had gone into labour, she was late as it was any longer and that poor baby would have been coming out bright red and royally cooked.

I mean, I was a late baby and the earliest pictures that my mother and father have of me as a new-born are of this tiny red thing lying in the crib beside Mum's bed or in her arms with wrinkles all over my face and scruffy hair. Well, the scruffy hair followed me up to this point in time but at least my skin calmed down.

Grinning at Amelia's excited expression, I ushered her back into the main party so that we could find my father or anyone really that wasn't too drunk. I knew that Dad was going to wait later into the evening when the younger children would be taken home before having a few, so he was our best bet to get to the hospital on time. It was a 10 minute drive to the hospital from the reception room, and as much as Amelia could get a taxi I didn't want to leave her alone at this time of night with any old pervert driving her God knows where. No, I was sticking by her even though it meant leaving my brother's wedding.

He'd understand – he's been through this before, his own daughter's birth and then of course all of us. Amelia was restless at the best of times, and I knew that she would start to worry about her mother going through all of that pain. She'd been there for me when my niece was born, it was the least I could do to be there for her and her baby sister.

Eventually we found Dad over by the bar talking to my Uncle Andrew – the pair were laughing about some football result that I really couldn't care about at that moment, but they were so involved in their conversation, looking at the stats and actual footage on Uncle Andrew's phone that I was worried that they wouldn't even notice us as we hurried over.

Luckily though, Uncle Andrew looked up from his phone as we got to them, a grin spreading across his face at the sight of us together. My uncle had always been a happy man – his hair was dark brown compared to my father's red, but he had the same green eyes and bushy eyebrows we'd all managed to inherit. He was the first you could have a joke with at any given occasion and always tried to tease me about relationships when I was younger – this was like a mini holiday for him.

"Hey there, Arthur," he grinned. "Who's your pretty little friend here?"

"Hey, Uncle Andrew," I said. "This is my girlfriend, Amelia. Uh, can we talk to Dad for a moment?"

"Oh, a girlfriend!" he laughed, clearly drunk already. "Awwwwww!"

Dad rolled his eyes a little and chuckled, looking at me. "Don't mind him…" he said. "What's the matter?"

"My Mom's gone into labour!" Amelia grinned. "And… Well…"

"Could you give us a lift to the hospital please?" I finished for her, looking at my Dad. He looked back at me awkwardly.

"I can't…" he sighed. "Andy's already bought me a few drinks… If I get caught driving I'll get pulled over."

"What about Mum?"

"She'll be driving us home but she's looking after Scarlet at that moment…" Dad said, scratching his head and looking around. "You're uncles will always give you lifts but this one's useless, there's no point in asking your Uncle Patrick because I know he'll be slaughtered already… Uh, I've not seen your Uncle George in a while… He's definitely been drinking though. I think the only one that's been staying sober because of his kids is your Uncle David. Go ask if he'll drop you off then you can text Mum later and we'll pick you up when you want, Arthur."

"Thanks Dad!" I said, walking away with Amelia to look for Uncle David.

"You have a lot of uncles," she observed as we searched.

"Yeah, Uncle Andrew and Uncle Patrick are Dad's brothers," I explained. "They live in Aberdeen and Belfast, and Uncle David and Uncle George are Mum's brothers and they live in Cardiff and London. We have a pretty big family but it's really only occasions like this that we see each other. We're all pretty close though."

"What does your Uncle David look like then?" Amelia asked, looking around.

"He's tall, blue eyes like Mum, uh… and dark blonde hair," I said, grinning as I finally spotted him stood beside the dance floor talking to Scott and Ambre. Taking Amelia's hand to pull her in the right direction – it was very convenient that he was with the happy couple, we could ask him for help and also give our apologies for leaving so soon to them at the same time. They looked at us as we came to a halt near them, smiling at us. Uncle David nodded his head gentlemanly to Amelia and grinned at me whilst Scott and Ambre looked at us curiously.

"What's up, Arthur?" asked Scott.

"Amelia's Mum's gone into labour and we need to get to the hospital…" I said, looking to Uncle David. "You couldn't possibly give us a lift could you? It's 10 minutes away by car and…"

"Of course I'll give you a lift," he said, clapping me on the shoulder. "The young girl needs to get to her mother at a time like this, I wouldn't dream of making things harder for you two."

"Thank you so much!" Amelia smiled, turning her attention to Scott and Ambre and smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry we have to go so soon…"

"Don't be thick," Scott said, lightly tugging on one of her curls rather than ruffling her hair. He did it to anyone he counted as family. "It's your mother, we get it."

"Tell her we wish her the best," Ambre smiled, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "We'll see you later, okay! Before we go on honeymoon!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot Scarlet was staying with Mum and Dad for two weeks," I muttered, looking round as Uncle David came back with his car keys and jacket. Waving bye to them, Amelia and I rushed out of the building with Uncle David and down to his car – getting into the back and waiting for him to start the engine. Amelia was shaking with excitement and nerves – she had always been the younger sibling, despite being a twin, and this new child was going to be so much younger than her. By the time Arianna would be 10 years old, Amelia would be 27, and by the time she was 18 Amelia would be 35… It was scary, all this new life coming into the world when we were still young ourselves.

As we were driven through the streets (Uncle David new them like the back of his hand from growing up in our town before moving to Cardiff), I couldn't help but think about how quickly we had all grown up in the past year.

When I had first met Amelia roughly that time last year, she was a shy quiet girl who had been trodden on by the world and rejected as a liar and a whore. She had become so depressed that not even the comfort of her friends was enough to keep her from committing the worst harm she could do to herself. But she opened herself up again and grew as a person until she became the beautiful, brilliant and bright girl that I was in love with.

I had been a loser, a nerd. Betrayed by people that I had called my friends for years, I had started to close myself away from friendship for fear of being hurt again. I was boring and quiet and wouldn't really stand up for anything, no matter how much I believed in it. But then Amelia came along and I opened up to her, to others. I got more friends than I had ever had in my entire life, became a better person and became true to who I really am. I stand up for the things that I believe in and speak out about stuff that I don't like without fear of the consequences.

And there we sat in the back of my uncle's car on the way to the arrival of a brand new life. A life that had so much to go through – she would suffer heartbreak, pain, loss… but she would also know love, desire, passion, excitement, fun. This little girl was a blank canvas ready to be made into a work of art, like myself and her sister before her. Our paintings were not yet complete, and sections of it were darker than we had really ever wanted, but they were good and precious and more valuable than we could have ever hoped for.

And I knew that this is what Amelia wanted for Arianna – to not have to suffer to the extent that she had to but to have that amazing painting, a good story of life and experiences. To be happy and healthy and brilliant.

I blinked as I felt Amelia nudge my arm before following her out of the car as Uncle David parked outside of the hospital. After thanking him multiple times, we hurried into the building and up to the main reception where Matthew and Sophia were stood talking to a receptionist – we knew that they had gone to the hospital with Emily and Francis, so they were more than likely just giving them the heads up about Amelia's arrival. They looked around and smiled at us as we hurried over, the receptionist nodding to us all as if to say 'go no please'.

Matthew led us through the building to the maternity ward, though Amelia and I were more than familiar with the structure of the hospital by now. It was pretty much the same as when Scarlet was born almost a year ago, but we could clearly hear the shouts Emily was making as we got closer to the room she would be staying in for the next few days.

Amelia's hand grabbed at mine as she heard her mother in pain, so I gave it a reassuring squeeze and went to a seat with her.

It was going to be a long night.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

"I'm fine, Mum," I said into my phone, my voice hoarse from lack of water. I was pacing around the waiting room as Amelia slept across the seats. Matthew was leaning back against the wall with his eyes closed, but he was definitely awake as his hands were gently stroking Sophia's hair as her head laid in his lap. It was 4am and Emily was still in labour – I wasn't surprised to be honest, a pregnancy as long as hers was bound to come in with some complications. Mum was calling me to make sure I was okay.

"Are you sure?" she said, her voice clearly tired from the early hour. "We could always come down there and get you if you want."

"I'm really fine, Mum, honestly," I sighed, rubbing my hand against my forehead. "I'd have text or called you if I wanted to leave."

"Okay…" Mum muttered. "How's Emily doing?"

"She's still at it," I replied, glancing to the door. "The doctor came out just now and said that it shouldn't be that much longer though. He mentioned something about forceps though…"

"Oh, I had to have that treatment to get Bryn out…" Mum grimaced. "That's not going to be pleasant…"

"I won't be telling Amelia that then…" I chuckled. "I love you, Mum."

"I love you too, Sweetheart," Mum said, a smile in her tone.

We hung up at the same time. Looking around, I sighed and yawned as I walked over to Amelia and sat on the ground beside our seats, not wanting to move her just yet as she might wake up.

That whole evening had gone on for so long, it was only as I looked at the screen of my phone and realised that the date was different that I remembered that this was a totally new day.

Above me, Amelia started to stir and just in time too as the screaming stopped for a moment before a soft crying could be heard. Amelia's eyes blinked open at the sound, tears forming as she heard her baby sister for the first time. I couldn't help but grin at the sound myself – it's something unreal the sound of a baby's first cry. You don't know whether it's from fear, hunger, attention or just a natural reaction to shout out 'hi, Mummy, I'm here!'. It's just an amazing noise.

Half an hour later, we were allowed to enter the room. Sophia and I had offered to stay outside in the waiting area, but we were ushered inside too as the doctor said Emily wanted all of us inside. We all smiled at the tired looking woman in the bed, Emily smiling back at us as she held the tiny bundle in her arms that we all knew was Arianna. Francis grinned at us proudly, standing up as Amelia hurried over to give him a hug.

"Can I see her, Mom?" she asked, looking at her mother.

"Of course, Baby," Emily replied, carefully passing the little girl to her older sister.

She was beautiful. Her eyes were open already and they were a bold brown like Emily's. She even had thick dark hair so it was obvious she was going to be the spitting image of her mother.

I smiled softly as I watched Amelia adore over her little sister – the baby was smiling back, her tiny hand clutching to Amelia's finger as the older girl tried not to cry. I couldn't help but imagine what she would be like if we ever had a child one day – I had no doubt she'd still look as beautiful, and the picture in my head made me smile more.

"She's like a diamond," Amelia said quietly. "Arianna, the diamond girl."

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

The months started to pass with the only incidents being anything cute that Arianna decided to do. She couldn't move or talk, but everyone knew she was there. Mum and Emily fawned over her like she was a little princess and even Lovina and Feliciana were messes around this child.

I won't lie, I couldn't resist her little giggle – Amelia kept on commenting on how I 'was a natural' with her so I would joke that she had competition. That seemed to make Arianna giggle more.

As we got into the middle of March, we all had to take our attentions away from the cute little distraction and focus on some real work – our first charity concert was coming up, and it was going to be a big thing.

We had managed to get sponsors to help us rent out the largest hall in the community centre, we had different bands coming to play and it was all happening on the fifteenth of March.

We were helping to raise money for Comic Relief – not just for the people suffering out in Africa, but for those in this country too. You see, I'd read on their website one day about some of the projects that would be funded with Red Nose Day money, and they had a whole list of things to do with Cyber Bullying. From funding support groups to helping make people more aware of what they should do when they are getting harassed online, you name it they had it – and we'd be stupid not to help out.

We were on our way to the music building to do some further planning during our break – Antonio had been telling us all about the live stream account and the Google+ hangout system that had been set up to stream the concert online and straight to our YouTube channel as well as the segments that had been arranged by the BBC when they got wind of the event that would be aired on the 'What's been happening in your area' sections.

Ducking into an empty music classroom we knew wouldn't be used for another 3 hours, we sat around – the whole group of us, Amelia, me, Lovina, Feliciana, Ludwig, Antonio, Lina, Dimitri, Matthew and Sophia – and started to go over what we had so far.

"Drinks," I said, looking at my notebook at the list we had created the other day.

"Drinks are being supplied by the community centre," Amelia said, reading from her own. "They have been so kind to say that all profits will go to the charity and already have the buckets lined up for people to pay into when they purchase food and drinks."

"Entry fee."

"Over 1000 tickets have been sold," Lina grinned. "I'm persuasive but people were really interested in this concert. They were all £5 each meaning we have raised £5000 already!"

"And I had a spare bank account to use with my PayPal just lying around so we've put the money in there for the time being so that we can donate it through that," Dimitri smiled.

"Well done," I grinned. "Bands?"

"We have 5 bands booked," Antonio beamed. "All of them are amazing! I've listened to them all play their sets at the rehearsal at the weekend and they are going to blow everyone away! We do have one more spot though…"

"Lighting and sound."

"All set up and ready," Ludwig said, nodding his head.

I grinned as I stood up, proud of our achievements so far. "This is turning out great!" I laughed, turning around and walking over to the piano behind us. Carelessly, I played a few notes as my happiness blinded me for a moment. It was only when I heard the chuckles that I realised what I had done.

"What was that you were playing?" Matthew asked, all of them getting to their feet to come closer.

"Uh… Just a little something I wrote," I mumbled, rubbing the back of my neck bashfully.

"Play it!" Lina smirked.

"It's not finished!" I replied, my cheeks burning from embarrassment.

"Oh come on, Arthur!" Amelia grinned, sitting me down at the piano. "Maybe we can help you finish it?"

"Okay…" I sighed, starting to play a few notes. I blinked as the others started to wander around, looking for instruments – Lina sat at a drum set and started to play along, Antonio found a guitar, Ludwig found a bass guitar, the Vargas twins found shakers and sat with them, the others just sat aside and watched as amusedly.

Taking a deep breath as we started to get into the music, I lost myself and started to sing. "_Up in the bar all smoking cigars while we were drinking Irish whiskey straight from the jar - talkin' 'bout them better days are not that far. Whoever's coming back to mine, you better bring the guitar. You play a sad song, yeah, sing it from the heart. Tell a sad story, yeah, tell it from the start; pass me on the pain that you made into art! Yeah, piercin' through my skin like a heroin dart_." I started to notice the grins from the others as they moved along with our music, all of it coming to us naturally. "_When someone's strummin' on the strings and they're spittin' things, everybody's movin' groovin' vibes when the other sings. They gon' kill you with their passion and their soul when the first verse drops, you'll be fightin' back the tears and all; while another man's crying in his beers and all, while his woman's sayin' cheers to it all. Ain't no shame in the game, just the way we were raised to always sing about better days, better days…_

"_Oh, we'll remember this night when we're old and gray cause in the future these will be the good ol' days! Oh yeah, we're arm in arm as we sing away - in the future these will be the good ol' days!_"

I continued to play but this was the part where I had no lyrics, no words to continue on the good feelings. I had written this song when things were starting to get well, but it ended when the car accident happened… I glanced at Amelia who grinned at me, stepping forwards as she danced a little and thought for a split second before she sang:

"_Ten o'clock and it's off - what started as a pub crawl, now we're all lost. Better live it out tonight, tomorrow's gonna cost so get up on that piano boy and play your ass off_," she grinned, looking at me as I laughed and played more at her request. "_You're playing real good, everybody sing along. If your bang is out of beat, everybody move along. Play us somethin' real we can hang our hopes on! Sing a rebel song and watch us march along! Won't you come along?_" she paused as the other's sang 'Oh, these times are hard', "_Yeah, meet Lovi, meet Tri, meet Feli, meet Ant. They're busking on the streets seven days a week. Pay a pound, pay a penny, make it full or leave it empty - they play, you listen, that's plenty. It's two am now, we're dancing in the rain and uh, hanging out of each other like the pain is gone. These are my people, these are my crowd and I'm never too proud to sing about it!_"

"_Oh, we'll remember this night when we're old and grey cause in the future these will be the good ol' days_," we all sang, the music taking us over and lightening our spirits. "_Oh and we're arm in arm as we sing away - in the future these will be the good ol' days! The good ol', the good ol' days!_"

I took over once more as the music changed slightly. "_Oh I got the whole place singin' yea, singin' this song. Even the old man there with the party hat on,_" I smirked at Dimitri, "_Singin' ooh ooh, come on sing it sing it, ooh ooh. I got the whole place singin' yea, singin' this song. Even the girl over there with the red dress on,_" I winked at Lovina who laughed, "_Singin' ooh ooh, she singin', ooh ooh. Oh, I got the whole bar drinkin' yeah, singin' these tune. Even the guy over there with the big tattoo is singin'_," Antonio laughed, glancing down at the tattoo of a star on his wrist, "_Yeah, singin' ooh ooh, drinkin' and singin', ooh ooh! The emo girls with the college degrees and the tag along friends with the fake ID's are singin' ooh ooh!_"

"_Oh yeah, we're arm in arm as we sing away - in the future these will be the good ol' days,_" we all sang once more. "_The good ol', the good ol' days! The good ol' days, yeah. The good ol' days…_"

As the music came to an end, we all looked at each other for a moment before grinning at how naturally that had came to us. It was cheesy and something that should have been in one of those High School Musical films, but we didn't care – the lyrics came from us, they had a meaning that we believed in.

"Guys, I have an idea," Lina smiled.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

The concert was in full swing.

Our families were there and enjoying themselves (well, Francis was there for Amelia and Matt, Emily was watching on the computer at home with Arianna), and we were raising so much money already it was insane.

Camera crews were flitting around filming as the second band played, getting footage of them and everyone dancing around in their Red Nose Day shirts and noses. I loved the designs this year – the Nose With Toes – mine was the little nerdy dinosaur nose with the hipster glasses.

Amelia bounced over to me with a grin on her face – she was wearing the Marilyn Monroe t-shirt and the same Nose as I was. "This is turning out great!"

"I know!" I grinned back. "Everyone's having such a great time!"

"You ready to perform on TV then?" she smirked.

"Are you?"

"I post videos every other day of me singing," she replied, smirking coyly. "This is your first public performance."

"I'll be fine," I chuckled. "I'm just glad I'm doing it with all of you."

"Me too," she smiled, bumping her fake Nose against my cheek.

We were going to be performing that evening, all of us like we had done in the music room the other day. This time we had written a song properly together, working mine and Amelia's talents for singing together for one song. Just one song. It was Lina's idea to put out our message to our subscribers, to show everyone it doesn't matter what they think, it doesn't matter how much they hurt you, as long as you stay true to you there is nothing that can stop you.

When the time came for us to get on stage, everyone noticed as this random group no one had been expecting got up to the instruments and smiled. Amelia took one of the microphones and moved near me as I stood behind the keyboard, grinning as Ludwig managed to keep the camera pointed at us for the Stream.

"Uh, hey guys!" she grinned. "Well, you know who we are. We're the team of kids who organised this whole concert for y'all. We thought it fair we join in too. So we wrote a little song to add to the festivities – one sung by myself and Arthur, here behind the keyboard. We hope you like and don't forget to donate to any of the buckets wandering round the room!"

At there was my cue.

My fingers stretched easily across the keys, listening as the Vargas sisters joined in with their surprising talents with the violin. Then the time came to sing. "_Yeah, you can be the greatest, you can be the best. You can be the King Kong banging on your chest._"

"_You could beat the world_," Amelia sang, the verses swapping between us. "_You could beat the war. You could talk to God, go banging on his door._"

"_You can throw your hands up. You can beat the clock. You can move a mountain, you can break rocks._"

"_You can be a master - don't wait for luck! Dedicate yourself and you gon' find yourself…_"

"_Standing in the hall of fame!" _we sang together, grinning at each other as the music picked up as planned. _"And the world's gonna know your name 'cause you burn with the brightest flame and the world's gonna know your name, and you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame!_"

Back to me, I smiled more as I saw my family looking at us in surprise and pride. "_You can go the distance - you can run the mile. You can walk straight through hell with a smile._"

"_You could be the hero_," Amelia grinned, saluting as she danced around. The crowd joined in. "_You could get the gold - breaking all the records they thought never could be broke!_"

"_Yeah, do it for your people, do it for your pride. How you ever gonna know if you never even try?_"

"_Do it for your country, do it for your name 'cause there's gonna be a day..._"

"_When you're standing in the hall of fame_," we sang. "_And the world's gonna know your name 'cause you burn with the brightest flame. And the world's gonna know your name and you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame. _

"_Be a champion, be a champion, be a champion, be a champion on the walls of the hall of fame…_

"_Be students. Be teachers. Be politicians. Be preachers,"_ we continued, the crowd dancing along and cheering as they began to agree with us. "_Be believers. Be leaders. Be astronauts. Be champions. Be truth seekers! Be students. Be teachers. Be politicians. Be preachers. Be believers. Be leaders. Be astronauts. Be champions!_

"_Standing in the hall of fame! And the world's gonna know your name 'cause you burn with the brightest flame. And the world's gonna know your name and you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame!_"

As the song came to an end and the crowd started to cheer around us, I looked at the other breathing deeply and grinned at our achievement. Amelia, Lina, Lovina, Feliciana, Antonio, Dimitri (who had taken over the bass from Ludwig). We had done something incredible and I knew as I laughed more openly than I had ever done so before that this was just the start of something amazing.

_**Notes:**_

_**So. Many. LYRICS.**_

_**FUCK.**_

_**So, I'll do some basic house keeping:**_

**Red Nose Day/Comic Relief is a charity/event that happens every two years here in the UK to help raise money for unfortunate children out in Africa and also in the UK, most of which are dying from lack of help. It's a day where you do 'something funny for money' and has been a big part of UK media for just over 25 years.**

**(I provided links to the Noses and T-Shirt pictures but they always fuck up on this site so go to the DeviantArt version for the links :D Thankies! )**

**This years charity single has been heard all over the world thanks to One Direction, as it's their new single One Way Or Another. The event really did take place Friday just gone and over £75m has been raised so far.**

_**So this has been one long notes section! Don't kill me for the songs, by the way. I wanted to do that and damnit I was gonna do it! Also, I've said in the past that I'd be pretending the characters wrote the songs but will credit the real artists at the end in the notes, so there's the reminder of that before I'm murdered.**_

_Songs used:_

Good Ol' Days – The Script

Hall of Fame – The Script ft. Will.

_**See you guys next chapter!**_


	27. Letters

**Reputation**

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

**Letters**

_What a bunch of faggots._

_Die losers._

_Don't you have better things to be doing?_

_DORKS!_

_Ewwww, that ginger's Italian! Kill it with fire!_

_The blonde at the piano is British! Hunt him down and pitch fork him before he rapes and pillages the world like his ancestors!_

_Uh oh! Girl drummer! AKA LESBIAN!_

_THE FUCK IS THAT PRICK WEARING ON HIS HEAD?! FANGS TOO? TWILIGHT'S OVER, FAGGOT!_

_Spanish people suck… They're so fucking stupid you have to set bulls on them to wake them up._

These were just a few of the comments on the video of the charity evening. It was surprising how some people could still find the opportunity to be cruel to others even when those people were raising money to help those in need.

I was sat in my bedroom the day after the concert, totally alone with my laptop on my lap. It was a quiet Saturday morning – I had to be in work by one as per usual, but for the time being I was taking things as slowly as I dared. Mum and Dad were at the café settling things as they hadn't been able to the night before what with the concert, Peter had gone round to a mate's house which left me alone in the house with nothing better to do than look at the footage from the stream the night before.

The funny thing with all these comments now was I just didn't care. They were just words that someone had thought would hurt anyone of us, but that's just what they were. Words. There were hundreds of thousands of comments on this video, and from what I could tell they were amazingly kind.

_I hope you raised lots!_

_Wow… You guys are so kind going out of your way to do this for that charity?_

_Where did you come up with that song? Love it!_

_OMG you are so pretty! That girl's voice is beautiful! The guy's hot too!_

_So much talent it's hard to know where to look! You all did great!_

_Congrats guys! You broke the record for awesomeness!_

You wouldn't have believed the size of the smile on my face even if you were in the same room with me. I was so proud of what we had achieved the night before – we had raised just over £10,000 for the charity. We had so much going on that it had, at first, been difficult for us to keep track of what was going on. We had the sales of food and drink raising money, stands for Red Noses to be bought were set up around the hall, Ambre had designed some t-shirts for us with Lovina and Feliciana and somehow they were selling them as quickly as the food. We even put the song up for download and had been raising money from that too… It's surprising how much you can do when you put your mind to it.

I had been getting many emails from relatives and even businesses and reporters saying about how proud they were, would I and the others consider coming for a chat, etc. etc. etc…

Shutting my laptop down, I set it back on my desk and got myself ready for work. After a shower, I got dressed in a simple green jumped and dark jeans – it was way too cold for the middle of March but there was nothing I could do about it other than just move on.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

I cannot even begin to tell you how hectic work was that day…

As soon as people started to recognise me from the concert the other night and all the coverage it got on TV and online, people started hoarding into the store to get photos with me and talk and just be nosey about what the real reasons behind the whole event.

Needless to say, Carol was the first to start kicking off when it got too hectic with no one actually making a purchase and started to shout at these people to leave me alone. When people started to shout back at her, I ended up having to tell everyone to leave or I would call the police.

Not wanting to be arrested, the crowds dispersed and we were soon left with more cleaning to do that selling. Something that Carol was quick to push onto me…

As I was vacuuming up the mess that the crowds had created, Amelia and the others walked into the store with smiles on their faces and papers in their hands. They could tell that I was confused in an instant so the majority of the group went to sit on the stone benches opposite the store to wait whilst Amelia came over to me.

"Hey, Cinders," she smirked, laughing and hopping out of the way as I tried to run her over with the vacuum cleaner. "That's not very nice is it?"

"Neither is teasing me when I've had a shit day," I replied, turning off the vacuum cleaner and running a hand through my hair. I felt Amelia's hand on my arm so looked down at her concern expression and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry… It's just been hectic in here for all the wrong reasons…"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"People started to recognise me from last night and were hoarding into the shop to talk to me and get photos and stuff," I sighed. "Honestly, it was if a fucking celebrity had entered the building…"

"Well, we kind of are now…" Amelia said, holding up the piece of paper. "We've all got one so I'd assume that you have too…"

"What is it?" I asked, unfolding the paper to see the BBC logo printed across the top.

"BBC News wants to interview us about our campaign, the fundraising and the music," Amelia smiled. "As soon as they caught wind of what the whole thing had spawned from they started to do their research into us, the videos and basically everything this group stands for. They want to hear the story from us and even have us perform a song live on the show."

"Wow," I muttered, reading through the letter which confirmed every Amelia had just told me. "But we don't have another song, do we?"

"I do…" she admitted, smiling awkwardly.

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**_

It was a quick process confirming that these letters were genuine and that the BBC really did want to talk to us about our project. We talked to a very nice PR lady named Angela who talked us through when they wanted us to be in the studio and reassured us that there was nothing to be worried about. She had some questions about the song to go over – simple matters to make sure that it was appropriate to broadcast in case younger viewers were affected by it in a bad way.

So, Monday morning we were whisked away to Television Centre in London to get ready for the interview. It was an amazing experience wandering around the TVC, it was the central hub of British television and there were so many people wandering around which only made it seem that more exciting. I had heard that they were going to be closing it down soon and moving onto somewhere else, so I was grateful that we were being given the opportunity to be inside such an amazing building.

We were greeted by Angela who introduced us to the news anchors, Mike and Jenna, who would be talking to us that morning. They seemed like really nice people – they shook our hands, complimented the girls on their outfits and joked with us like they had known us for years. It truly was a friendly environment.

As the rest of the news went along, they kept the cameras off of the areas where the instruments had been set up and extra sofas for us all to sit down until they finally came to introducing us.

"Now, we all know of the success that happened the other evening with Comic Relief," Mike said. "The record breaking amount that was raised hit a staggering £75,107,852 all thanks to the kindness of people in and around the UK. One such group went above and beyond for the cause, raising an impressive £10,000 for the charity – and they're all under 20 years old. Meet Arthur, Amelia, Matthew, Lovina, Feliciana, Antonio, Sophia, Ludwig, Lina and Dimitri – a group of second year college students from the south of the UK who have one mission: to make people aware of and protect the victims of cyber bullying."

"Tell us about this group then," Jenna smiled, looking to us as we shifted slightly on the red sofa consciously. "I hear it was your idea, Arthur?"

I nodded. "Yes, I came up with the idea to create a YouTube channel to start telling our stories and other peoples," I explained. "Things had been going on in the college, mainly our Media class, in which Amelia here was being alienated and picked on by other students."

"They and other people I had no idea existed started to post comments onto my NoteSpring page and my own YouTube channel," Amelia said, taking over to tell her story. "I was getting it from all angles – the names that I was being called were vile and I wouldn't even call my worst enemy them… I was being threatened. And even though I had friends sticking by me – Arthur was fantastic at being there at the right moment – everything was just starting to get overwhelming… Finally, it all became too much and I posted a video saying goodbye… I tried to take my own life because people were telling me that I would be better off dead than breathing the same air as them…"

"I got there in time and managed to get her to the hospital," I said. "But that was the moment when I realised just how disturbing the concept of cyber bullying could be. I had been bullied at school myself and got punished for it by the teachers, but here… Amelia had tried to punish herself and that was wrong. She was the victim of an attack that no one stopped. So the YouTube channel came about to use the tools that the bullies use against them. We made a Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and now an Instagram account – everything just promoting support and stories to show that there are other people suffering out there. You aren't alone."

"That was an incredibly brave thing to do," Mike said. "And might I add, I'm glad that you are still around, Amelia. You seem like a bright and wonderful young lady."

"Thank you," Amelia smiled.

"So, you started posting the stories of what had happened to you?" Jenna asked. "Didn't that scare you?"

"Of course it scared us," I replied. "My story was published first to get the bowl rolling and some of the comments that I received were disgusting…"

"We read some of them," Jenna nodded. "Do you mind if they're shared?"

"By all means," I said. "I can remember them by heart…"

Looking round, we saw the comments (which rude words blurred out) put onto the screen behind us – likely a full screen image for the people watching at home – of some of the hateful comments that I had received.

"These comments are truly disgusting," Mike said. "These people were being so openly racist towards you but that didn't deter you, did it?"

I shook my head and smiled at the others. "We took those comments and made a video showcasing them. We showed off what these people were saying to say, 'look, do you really think you look big? Clever? No, you don't'. There were nice comments though and that's what people need to remember – there will always be someone out there willing to come to you and say you are worth fighting for. Don't give up!"

"You all seem like a very tightknit group," Jenna smiled. "A real team."

"We're more than a team," Dimitri smiled. "I may have only joined them last summer, but this whole group is a family. We support each other and those who come to us for help."

"No one should be made to feel like they shouldn't be alive," Antonio said. "I've looked at the comments that were made from the stream we had of the concert the other night and there are some that are just horrible. Lina's my sister and I hated seeing comments made about her calling her a lesbian and that she should die. I didn't care for the comments about me, just the others… That's what makes this group work so well – we're united and we protect each other."

"People assume that because a kid has gone home that they are safe within the confines of their bedroom walls," Ludwig said. "And as much as it is already said, bullying is now able to follow them home. One laptop is connected to billions of other devices – not just computers, but tablets and games consoles and even phones. You may be watching your son or daughter texting someone on the other side of the room when in actual fact they are online causing another person pain or becoming the victim themselves."

"There are too many people in this world to be able to stomp out any kind of bullying," Feliciana said. "People like to hurt each other, but we can help to make sure that people are aware that there are things they can do to get through it."

"Funding support groups like the one Amelia attended and making it more obvious to people where they can click on a web page or instant messenger to report abuse is what we are hoping to do," Lovina said.

"Too many people are dying because they think the world is against them," Lina said. "It's scary just how many people kill themselves because they are being bullied online. There are approximately eleven teen suicides every single day, making suicide the third leading cause of death amongst schools and colleges. All because there will always be someone out there willing to tell them that they should be dead. That something terrible should happen to them because they're different."

"We don't care what you look like, where you're from, what you love, who you love," I said. "We're all human beings. Who cares if I'm blonde? If my eyebrows are big? If I'm British? If I'm straight or gay? What difference should it make? We all look the same in the dark."

"You guys really are passionate about this cause," Mike smiled.

"I don't like bullies, no matter where they're from," Amelia replied. "No one has the right to make someone feel like they should kill themselves."

"Well said," Jenna grinned. "Now, the group are continuing their fundraising for causes across the country to help fund support groups and more and you kind find out more information on how to donate or how to share your story with them on our website."

"That's all we have time for for now," Mike smiled. "And after their breath taking performance for Comic Relief the other evening, we've asked the group to perform one more time for us. What's the name of the song again, anyone?"

"It's called Perfect," Amelia smiled. "It's a new one that I wrote…"

"Can't wait to hear it," Jenna grinned, watching as we hurried over to the band area. "Well, you heard it here, everyone. Here are the teenagers of Beyond the Screen performing, Perfect."

We all got into position and waited for our cue before Antonio started to strum on the guitar. I smiled at Amelia from behind my keyboard, watching as she returned the smile and took a deep breath.

"_Made a wrong turn once or twice, dug my way out of blood and fire_," Amelia sang. "_Bad decisions, that's alright. Welcome to my silly life. Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood, miss "no way it's all good" - it didn't slow me down. Mistaken, always second guessing, underestimated… Look, I'm still around…_

"_Pretty, pretty please, don't you ever; ever feel like your less than, less than perfect! Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel like you're nothing you are perfect to me!" _she glanced at me and smiled, blushing a little at the proud expression on my face._ "You're so mean when you talk about yourself - you are wrong. Change the voices in your head; make them like you instead… So complicated; look how big you'll make it! You're filled with so much hatred… Such a tired game. It's enough, I've done all I can think of; chased down all my demons, I'll see you do the same._

"_Pretty, pretty please don't you ever, ever feel like your less than, less than perfect! Pretty, pretty please if you ever, ever feel like you're nothing you are perfect to me!_

"_The whole world's scared so I swallow the fear - the only thing I should be drinking is an ice cold beer. So good at lying and I tried, tried, tried - but we try too hard, it's a waste of my time. Done looking for the critics, cos they're everywhere - they don't like my jeans, they don't get my hair. Estrange ourselves and we do it all the time. Why do we do that? Why do I do that? Why do I do that..? Yeah!_

"_Pretty pretty please don't you ever ever feel like you're less then, less than perfect. Pretty pretty please if you ever ever feel like you're nothing you are perfect to me. You are perfect. You're perfect! Pretty, pretty please don't you ever ever feel like you're less then, less than perfect. Pretty, pretty please if you ever ever feel like you're nothing you are perfect to me…_"

_**Notes:**_

**That seemed like a good place to end that chapter :)**

**There's not really that much to say to be honest. I hope that the message of this story is getting across and it's helping in some way shape or form. There are 3 chapters left now so I hope you stick around till the very end.**

_**Song:**_

**Perfect (Clean Version) – P!nk**


	28. Promise

**Reputation**

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

**Promise**

Music blared out of the speakers in Antonio's car, an old song from the summer that never was. I remembered how often I would hear that song playing through the radio of the small store that I worked in, the nostalgia of that simpler time echoing around me as I fiddled with my seatbelt. The lyrics were simple – a message of how the summer heat would affect anyone in the sunshine, how the boys would go silly when the girls were dressed pretty. I smiled to myself, wondering whether those lyrics would come true this year.

The weather at that moment in time was giving me the strong impression that it wouldn't happen – rain was splashing against the car almost blocking out the noise of the radio, hence why Antonio had turned the volume up so high. I was in the back with Amelia – Lovina in the front seat. We were making our way back into college after that peculiar weekend had passed – it felt kind of the like a foreign subject talking about college, it was like it was on a totally different plain to the interviews and the concert and all the work that we had been doing for charity recently.

We were all bracing ourselves for an increase in our workload now that the magazine project was over and done with – we had finished every other assignment that had been set for us so it was finally time to get on with the Final Major Project, something that had been kept under lock and key from the get-go. I was looking forward to finding out about this project as from overhearing little snippets of conversations by the staff it would be testing our organisational skills to the highest amount – and I think it was pretty clear that I was up for another challenge after the concert.

I looked around at the others as we got stuck in a traffic jam at the bottom of the college road – Lovina was slumped in her chair in front of me, her arms folded and (judging from her reflection in the side mirror) her eyes were closed; Antonio was leaning back in his seat, his hands drumming against the steering wheel to the beat of a new song (the charity song by One Direction for Red Nose Day. That's what we got for listening to a mainstream station); and finally, Amelia was leaning against the arm rest on the door of the car, her chin resting on the palm of her hand. She was staring out of the window, the rain reflecting on her skin and her face calm and neutral. She looked like she was deep in thought and the first thing to cross my mind was the want to join her in that little bubble that she still created around herself. I knew that now it wasn't a bad thing for her to have that bubble – it was a brighter and more creative one, so many wonderful things were coming to life because of it and all I wanted was to see inside and to understand how she came up with the ideas she did.

It was like the songs that I had found in a notebook in her room that morning – I had stayed at her house the night before after the interview, so many questions still buzzing in my own head as the song we had played for the country replayed in my head for the umpteenth time. I knew where the inspiration for the lyrics came from but at the same time I wanted to know what she was feeling when she went through that, the emotion that had to have been put into creating a song so pure and open – she was baring her very soul in a 3 minute set and telling a story so very personal to her in such a condensed yet revealing way.

It took me ages to come up with a decent set of lyrics, but when she was writing away in that special notebook I had seen her carrying around college it was like she had slipped into a whole other universe and was able to just pour those feelings out onto the page. But I guess that was how we complimented each other well – I could tell a long story, write the emotions down on a plain piece of paper and created an image within someone's mind of a character or a place; she was able to create a piece of music that could compliment the story in a short way and make the listener relate to it so easily.

The amount of comments that we had received when the interview clip had been put up on our channel was enough to vouch for that – so many people were saying how they cried at the lyrics and the meaning, that it spoke to them in such ways that other songs hadn't done before. They asked for a way to download it so they could listen to it over and over – we were still working on that but we had put out a small video to explain that point to all those people.

Eventually, we got into the college and Antonio found a decent parking spot – we still had to rustle about to get out coats on and make sure that we had our hoods up ready to be able to run across the car park before we got too soaked. I all but jumped out of the car once I opened the door, making sure my bag was securely on my back before slamming the door shut – Amelia had done the same so we started to run through the car park and down the stone steps to get into the shelter of the atrium.

"Jeez, the weather is terrible today," I muttered, shaking my head and watching as drops of water shook off from the tips of my scruffy hair.

"You can say that again," Amelia replied, heading straight for our classroom to see if the door was open. It was locked, so we hurried down to the technician's office and got the key from him before going inside and setting our bags down on the floor and getting ourselves sorted.

"The weather in this country is so bipolar," Lovina complained, throwing her coat under the desk so that it could rest against the radiator underneath to dry off. "It was nice the other day. Hell, it was brighter this morning than anything I've seen since the start of 2013 but look at it out there now! It's like we've hit monsoon season or something."

"You're just complaining because your hair got wet," said Feliciana as she walked into the classroom. She had left before us to spend some time with Ludwig before lessons started. Lovina shot her a look and flipped her the bird before getting her brush out of her bag to sort her hair out again. I chuckled and sat down in my seat, watching as Amelia finished brushing her hair and sat down beside me.

"So, when were you going to show me that notebook of yours?" I asked quietly, spinning my chair round to look at her. A blush crossed her face and she looked at me awkwardly for a moment, so I chuckled and shook my head. "You're so cute sometimes."

"Oh shut up," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "I honestly had no idea when I would show you it… I just wrote in it and never thought about it."

"But it's got some beautiful songs in it," I pressed. "Songs that deserve to be heard and you certainly have the talent to be able to share them."

"You are too sweet for your own good," she smiled. "But I barely had enough confidence to sing the other day and at the concert… I only got through it because I had you guys with me… On my own…"

"I've seen those videos you post," I said. "Of you playing guitar and singing. You could make it big as a singer one day."

Amelia shook her head though and looked at the computer screen, typing away on the keyboard to log and let the Mac load so it had warmed up in enough time to actually work during the lesson – the Macs that we had to work with were notorious for freezing and dying at random moments. Sighing a little, I logged into mine as well only to look round as I felt a tap on my shoulder. Blinking slightly, I looked up at Gilbert as he stood behind us with an awkward expression on his face – he was alone, no sign of Elizabeta anywhere meaning that she was probably taking another sick day.

"Yeah?" said Amelia, frowning at him as she too turned to look at him.

"I wondered if we could talk?" he said. We nodded to motion that he could continue. "I wanted to say… I'm sorry…"

"What?" I said, surprised.

"About everything that's happened since last year," said Gilbert. "I know I was a major dick to you both – especially you Amelia – and I just wanted to say I was sorry. I know you probably won't forgive me but… I mean it. Some of what Elizabeta did was petty and cruel and I went along with it for no real reason."

"It's okay, Gil," smiled Amelia. "I do forgive you so you can stop looking so awkward."

"Well, you're certainly a bigger person than I am," he chuckled, rubbing his head. He gave us both a small smile before walking back over to his seat on the other side of the room. Amelia turned to me and chuckled, nudging me for some reason.

"Well, that was unexpected," I whispered, grinning at her.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Just before 9:15am our teacher, Susan, came into the classroom with a lot of heavy folders in a box. I got up from my chair and took the box from her to help, ignoring the coos of 'teacher's pet' that got hummed around the classroom – I was past the point of caring, in all honesty, I just didn't want her to break her back from the weight of that box and she seemed close to doing that.

"Alright, settle down, you children," she sighed, turning on the main computer and logging in as it loaded. Susan was one of the teachers that we had since the beginning of our time at the college – she was the teacher of the class where I had first met Amelia – so she was pretty much tired with the behaviours that could be found within the class. She didn't take any shit from anyone which was one of the reasons why I wanted to show her that not all of the class was a waste of time and space. "Lara should be along any minute know, and Jenna so we can explain the final major project to you." She paused and looked round as the door opened, rolling her eyes a little as Lina came into the room looking awkward and apologetic.

"Sorry, I'm late, Sue," she said. "I had a dentist appointment."

"You're not drastically late so don't worry," Susan said, smiling at her a little. Lina smiled and hurried to the empty seat near the back of the room. I chuckled quietly and turned my attention back to the door as Lara and Jenna came into the room carrying two piles of paper followed by the other group. Matthew and Sophia came into the room looking a little perplexed so we made ourselves known to them so that they knew that they could grab a chair and sit down by us.

"Is everyone here?" asked Jenna, looking around the room and attempting to count the very many people squatting in the condensed area. In the end she gave up and just motioned for Susan to show us the presentation.

"Okay," smiled Lara, looking around at us all. "As you all know, this week is your final week here at the college before the Easter break and then after that you have 8 weeks until the end of your time here. But over 6 of those weeks you will be working on the most ambitious project that we have come up with to date. You will be creating an exhibition – one that will spread right across this department – to showcase the best of your work this year. You will each be allocated 1 section of wall and two computers to present your work but how you use the space is up to you."

"This is a very important project for you as it will be covering 26 learning objectives," Jenna said. "That means you have 26 chances at getting distinction, which I know that most if not all of you are entirely capable of doing."

"On the brief that's going to be handed out to you in a moment you'll see all of the information you will need," Susan said, flicking through the presentation. "Each member of staff has said what assignments will be covered in their class but not all of them will be going towards the FMP – the work produced in those lessons can be used as examples as to what you are proud of though."

"If you'll look closely," Lara said, handing out the assignment briefs. "You'll see that Carol's lesson will be spent learning to write cover letters; Susan will be walking you through CV writing; Tony will be working on web design; Rodney will be making show reels with you; I will be working through presentations with Jenna; and with Mike you'll be making miniature versions of yourselves."

"But first, we have a task that's going to require a bit of research," Susan said. "You need to create a pitch. And that involves creating a presentation for us that will be shown on the 19th of April. Look into how a presentation is put together – including the use of physical and virtual space – and tell us how you plan to present yourselves!"

"So we can do just about anything then?" asked Gilbert, his head tilted in confusion.

"Yes," Susan replied. "You can have a show reel playing on one computer, a website on the other, art on the wall and even a physical hard copy of the work you want to present. Be as creative as you can!"

"Real employers will be coming to the event for you to be able to share your talents with them," Jenna said. "And if you want to do well in the industry, making a good impression here and now is the best thing for you to do."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

As the talk had taken much longer than the teachers had been expecting, especially with all the questions that we started to ask them about the project and who was coming, we were allowed to go out onto break a bit earlier that day – which was a plus seeing as Tony wasn't even in for tutoring!

We had a 5 hour break – which was ridiculous in hindsight – so we wandered up to one of the cafés and circled around a table, all of us talking about this project.

"I'm a little nervous now," confessed Lina, looking at us and running a hand through her hair. "I mean, this is bigger than that magazine and no one gave a shit about that. What happens if the same thing happens again?"

"This won't be like that though," I said, shaking my head. "This is individual contribution. If you fuck up then it's your own fault and you're not in the show. Simple as."

"Great… That makes me feel so much better…"

"Don't ask next time…" Antonio said, rolling his eyes at his sister. Lina was about to shout at him, but I cut in.

"This won't be so bad because we have the experience already," I smiled. "The concert. The channel. We can showcase everything we've done for that too because who doesn't love a talented bunch of kids who've helped make a difference?"

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Antonio dropped me off home again at the end of the day; he had insisted thanks to the persistent heavy rainfall that just wouldn't stop. Amelia came with me, having brought a change of clothes with her earlier, both of us soaked again by the time we reached the front door. I fumbled with my keys, managing to get the front door opened to let us inside.

"My God, I think we need to build a damn ark," I moaned, walking straight through to the living room to dump by bag down on a chair. We were home alone as Mum liked to make sure Peter actually did his homework after school – that meaning he had to go to the café after school to do his work there. Knowing this fact, I started to strip out of my damp clothes until I was only in my boxers. Amelia watched the whole time, turning away and blushing as I caught her eye. It amused me how shy she could be sometimes, but at the same time it was very cute.

"I'm gonna go to your room and change," she said.

"I'll come too," I smiled, watching her turn redder. "Oh come on, it's nothing I've not seen before," I continued, walking over to her and wrapping my arms around her. Her forehead flopped down onto my chest as she sighed, causing me to chuckle and press a kiss to her crown.

"Fine," she said, looking up at me. I chuckled and led her upstairs, taking the sweatpants and white t-shirt that I had been using as pyjamas again and leaving the room. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get dressed in my parents room so you can get in your pyjamas in peace," I said, poking my head round the doorframe and smiling at her. "You seemed uncomfortable and I don't want that."

She chuckled a little and shook her head, smiling at me fondly. "You really are sweet, Arthur," she said.

"Only to you," I responded before walking into my parents' room and dressing. It was nice putting on those warm clothes – I'd left them beside the radiator in my room because Mum always turned the heating on before she left so that the house would be warm by the time she got home from work. Our heating bills were extortionate but I guess it was worth it in the long run if it meant that we could sit in our home comfortably without the fear of getting pneumonia. After I was done, I walked out onto the landing when I heard movement, looking Amelia up and down as she stood before me in her new pyjamas – I had to chuckle at her; she was wearing a pink vest top with Thor and Captain America fighting, a speech bubble above them saying 'now, now, boys… there's no need to fight over me!' in curly italic writing, and pink tartan patterned trousers. On her feet were thick, fluffy pink socks which I guess completed the look, but she was stood there with her arms folded under her chest pouting at me in a way that made her look cuter and only succeeded in making me chuckle more.

Rolling her eyes, Amelia sighed at me and put her hands on her hips. "Can I use your Internet with my iPad?" she asked. "I don't know what the password for it is though…"

"Of course you can use it," I said, motioning for her to follow me downstairs. We went downstairs and I turned on the switches that turned on the TV and V+ box (Mum always turned everything except the router off at the wall to help conserve energy, which at least meant our electricity bill was less that the gas bill). However, it did mean that the V+ box had to load all the way from the beginning so Amelia flopped down into the recliner and turned her iPad on before handing it to me and letting me type in the password for it. "There. Okay, you just sit around and play with your toy and I'll go make us some bacon sandwiches!"

"Maybe I should do it…" she said, looking up at me anxiously.

"It's only a bit of bacon…" I sighed. "Just because I can't make other food, it doesn't mean that I can't make a sandwich."

"Tell me how to do it then?" Amelia demanded.

"I make it the healthy way," I said. "The same way Mum does for bacon sandwiches at the café – put the bacon in a dish and then put it in the microwave for 1 minute and 45 seconds. That way it's crispy but still juicy and tasty!"

"Fine go ahead," she smiled, laughing at me as I poked my tongue out at her and went to the kitchen to make the sandwiches. I listened to her hum as she flicked through her emails, going through my cooking process and making the first edible looking meal I had in a while. "Hey, Arthur… You may want to check your emails in a bit too! This is insane!"

Walking into the living room with two plates in my hand, I set hers on the arm of the chair and looked over her shoulder at the email showing on her iPad. "Another interview?" I questioned.

"In LA!" exclaimed Amelia, looking up at me brightly. "LA! Los Angeles! This is so cool, Arthur! I used to watch this show all the time! Can we go? Please please please!"

"We have to make sure that this isn't a fake email first," I said. "But I don't see why not. We're both old enough to make our own decisions so our parents shouldn't have that much of a quarrel over it."

"Oh I do hope it's real!" Amelia grinned. "You can meet Alfred and Maddy!"

"Oh yeah, they live out in LA LA Land don't they?" I grinned, laughing as she smacked me with a cushion.

"Don't ever call it that again," she said, looking at me like I was an alien. "It really doesn't suit you that kind of language…"

"Alright, I won't say it again," I laughed. "You're reaction was priceless though."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Excitingly enough, the email was legit – we got in contact with them via the Skype link that they had given us and talked to producers and other legal representative that sent us all the information we would need to know that they were totally serious.

We were given information about the time we would be needed in the studio to talk about the campaign, what the idea was and all the stuff that we had talked about on our BBC interview. They said that they had clips and information that would further benefit us and help us to raise further money for our cause. They were paying for flights to get us out to Los Angeles for a whole week during the Easter holidays and would even pay for accommodation for us all.

And after talks with our friends and parents as soon as Easter came we were ready to go. And I meant all of us involved: Amelia, Matthew, Sophia, Lovina, Feliciana, Ludwig, Antonio, Lina, Dimitri and myself. It was insane as we met up with each other at the airport, all of us buzzing and high on caffeinated drinks because of the God awful hour that we had to leave.

The majority of the group would be stay at the hotel nearby the studio, but Matthew, Sophia, Amelia and I were going to be staying with the twin's Aunt May and Uncle Ben and their cousins Alfred and Maddy. I was very impressed by their house – it was up on a hill with the best view of the ocean I had ever come across, and the whole building was huge. There were lots of rooms inside; 3 bathrooms, a large kitchen with adjoining dining room, a huge living room, the master bedroom, Alfred's room, Maddy's room and 3 guest bedrooms.

And the personalities of Amelia's family were pretty much as big as the house: May was a bright woman with a big smile and similar looks to Amelia; Ben had the heartiest laugh that I had ever heard; Maddy was quiet but very smart and surprisingly sporty; and Alfred was loud, excitable and a lot bigger than I had been expecting. He was muscled from the football he played but he was so nerdy that it just seemed to counter his sporty side and create the perfect balance. Like Amelia and her music, Alfred was nerd and sports. But he was very welcoming of us all and treated us like he had known us forever.

The interview with the talk show had been about as detailed as the BBC interview – they asked us similar questions but joked with us more. It was an informal interview and they made it feel as though we had literally just walked into someone's living room. The female presenter, Lydia, was very sympathetic with Amelia and her story as she talked about her attempted suicide and just how low everyone had made her feel – it was hard listening to her talk like that again but the smile that came to her face when she talked about how it had inspired her with songs and to help people, how it had made her grow as a person.

"'You only live once' is stupid," she had said. "You may only get one life and I got a second chance with mine, and I plan to do everything I can to make sure that other people don't make the mistake that I did."

After the show we got to meet more people, people that had been made aware of the qualities that each of us had. We were approached about campaign work and various other projects that would help further promotion of the charities we were raising money for and things that would give us all a good chance in life.

Amelia was approached her music – an actual producer had asked her if she wanted the chance to record her song professionally, sell it with profits going to the charities. She was so startled that she didn't have an answer; luckily this man was patient and kind, he gave her his number and the business card of the studio and told her she had a couple of days to make up her mind but not to worry too much about it.

I, on the other hand, discovered that the stories that I had published online had been found and read by a publisher… They had sent a representative out to talk to me about writing a story about bullying – it could be about our campaign or even just a fictional story but something that could make the public more aware of what we working for. They also gave me a business card and the rest of the week to think about my answer…

I had an idea of what I could write but the time to think about it was very welcome…

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Thursday morning we sat out by the pool, all of us chilling out and enjoying the sunshine that had been taken away from us in the UK. Some of us were in the water, others laying on the chairs beside the pool sunbathing.

I was sat on the edge of the pool, my legs in the water and the sun heating my back more than I had felt it in a long time. Amelia was swimming below the surface of the water, my eyes following her the whole time until I got hit in the face by a large wave of water.

"Ah!" I yelped, wiping my face and looking at Alfred who was bobbing about in the water with a grin on his face. "You are a dead man!" I laughed, jumping into the water and grabbing a foam tube. He grabbed another and smirked.

"Pool duel?" he laughed. I wasted no time in aiming a smack to his head, smirking as he barked in surprise and dunked under the water. The others had turned their attentions to us now and in the corner of my eyes I could see Amelia leaning against the edge of the pool watching in amusement as Alfred burst out of the water and struck me with the foam tube. It was the most free and easy I had felt in a very long time, just splashing around in the pool fighting like children. Eventually everyone got involved in our war and for once we were a normal teenagers on holiday, normal teenagers not riddled with pain, normal teenagers hanging out and acting our ages.

About an hour later we were still out by the pool, but I had gotten changed to do a bit of exploring around their large garden. I had something in my pocket that I was waiting to give to Amelia though, something that was making more and more nervous as the day went on. I was leaning against the fence near the back of the garden looking out at the ocean, the sun setting in the distance creating a soft glow on the water that I thought only happened in the movies. I sighed softly and looked at my feet, turning around when I heard footsteps behind me.

Amelia walked over to me with a soft smile on her face and a towel around her shoulders – she was still in her bikini top but had shorts on over the top of the bottoms. I smiled back at her and put my arm around her as she finally reached me.

"Whatcha doing out here?" she asked, leaning against me and tilting her head up to look at me.

"I fancied a walk," I replied, keeping my eyes on the ocean in the distance.

"Is that all?" pressed Amelia.

"I've just been thinking about all this…" I said. "Everything changed so quickly since we got out here and I'm… I'm nervous…"

"Me too," Amelia replied. I finally looked at her, looking at her wide blue eyes which were bright with honesty. "I still have to give Andy my answer for the recording…"

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

She hesitated for a moment before smiling. "I'm gonna do it," she said. "Even if it's not for very long, it's nice to say that I sold an album – and like you said, I have lots of songs that should be heard."

"Good," I replied, smiling as I pressed a kiss to her head.

"What about you?" she asked. "You're book."

"I'm going to do it," I said. If she could take the chance then so could I. "I know the story I want to tell… If you'll let me."

She blinked. "My story?"

"Not your name or anything," I said quickly. "I just… I know how I want to write this story and from what we've experienced… Your story is the most honest I can think of. My story will be there too. I'm writing about all of this in a way I never thought before."

She looked down for a moment before nodding. "Okay," she said. "If anyone can pull this off, you can."

"Thank you," I smiled. "About this music thing… Will you have to be out in this country to do this?"

"Oh, no!" she laughed. "God no… They have a studio in London too! All I'd have to do is just travel there when they need me and it'll be done!"

"That's good," I chuckled.

"Why?"

"I wanted to know if you'd be needing company," I replied, looking out at the ocean again. I was embarrassed about being so open but it was the truth. "I'd stay with you for as long as you were needed… Even in London I'd do that…"

"Really…" she muttered, turning me gently to look me in the eyes. "You would really do that for me?" I nodded. "No one has ever done that for me before… Well, no one with a choice…"

"I love you," I said, resting my forehead down on hers. "More than anything in the world. I'd have thought you knew that by now."

She giggled softly, pressing a light kiss to my lips as her hands fingered the collar of my shirt. "I do know that," she said. "And I love you too."

"And I promise you, I will be there by your side always," I smiled, smoothing her cheek. "I have something for you…"

"Oh?" she uttered quietly. I nodded and carefully took the small box out of my pocket, handing it to her and watching as she took it almost apprehensively. A small smile came to my face as she opened it and pulled out the gift inside - a silver chain holding a simple circle with encrusted diamonds and sapphires in a neat pattern. "Oh, Arthur… It's beautiful…"

"It's more than that," I said. "It's a circle. A ring." She looked up at me with wide eyes. "I'm not… I'm not proposing if that's what you think. We're too young for that and it would be pretty stupid, but this is just to say… I love you and I always will. This is a start to say I will always be there for you and that one day… One day if you want to…"

Cutting me off, Amelia wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me down for a kiss. I blinked and kissed her back, looking down at her as she pulled back and grinned at me.

"Did I ever mention you were too sweet?" she grinned.

"Once or twice," I chuckled. She turned around for a moment to allow me to put the necklace around her neck, turning back to face me with the brightest smile on her face. "Beautiful."

_**Notes:**_

**My lord this was a hard chapter to write and it's so long…**

**It's almost the end of the story, Friends. Only 2 chapters to go!**

**I'm thankful to all of you who have stuck by me with this :) You are wonderful.**


	29. Simple

**Reputation**

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

**Simple**

By the time the Easter holidays came to an end, I was more than ready to go back into college and get on with the exhibition. Of course, we had to get back home from Los Angles first. The flight home from America was far more enjoyable than actually travelling to the country – for some reason there were a lot more film options than there were before and because the flight would be going over night there was a better chance of sleeping.

I looked beside me as we sat down in our seats, Amelia right next to me whilst the others were dotted around the various seats available. She glanced at me with a small smile on her face so I held her hand and gave it squeeze – I knew that she would be sad to be leaving her family behind again especially as she hardly got to see Alfred and Maddy but I made a silent promise to myself and her that we would go back to LA one day soon so that she could see them again. Maybe during the summer when they were on vacation like us.

We had to take into consideration the times and locations though because their education, though similar to ours, was fairly different – for instance, in 8 weeks Amelia and I would be graduating from college and having the chance to get into employment, apprenticeships or university. Alfred and Maddy were about to graduate from high school, have summer break and then go onto college. I know that college and university are exactly the same thing – but going through the same system as they have I have been to and could go to six different places for my education whilst they have gone to three or four.

Amelia sighed softly and leant her head down on my shoulder, closing her eyes and trying to release the tension in her shoulders. Worried, I pushed the arm rest up and wrapped my arms around her, nuzzling the top of her head and whispering to her softly. She sniffed softly and looked up at me, a small smile slowly forming on her lips. I didn't really know what it was that I had done to earn that smile but I was grateful for it.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly. She replied with a nod, her legs coming up onto the other seats next to her and the rest of her lying down gently against me. I chuckled softly and kissed the top of her head, holding her close and resting my head down on hers. Content, we actually ended up dozing off for a few hours – by the time I woke up, it was dark outside the windows of the plane and the lights had been dimmed inside the cabin.

Looking down at Amelia, I watched her as she slept soundly knowing that when she was in this kind of mood she could sleep for a very long time. She said that it was a trait that she had picked up from her father – but something told me that Francis did a little more than sleep when he was in the bedroom. Arianna was proof of that. Of course I never voiced that; I mean, I wanted to stay with Amelia and I don't think she'd want the mental images of her parents getting at it…

I absentmindedly started to play with her hair, looking around the plane from my seat to try and see what the others were up to but from the position I was lying in it was near on impossible to get a good look. So I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

My head pressed to the cold wood of the desk as I listened to the mindless drabble of the people around me – everyone seeming to have at least one thing stupid to say that morning. I didn't really know why I was in such a foul mood – it must have been prolonged jet lag or something, or just the fact that my class was filled with fucking morons – but I was keeping my mouth tightly closed for the time being knowing that it wouldn't do anyone any favours if I started mouthing off at Elizabeta for not being able to shut her stupid face…

I swear, it was like that whole group had taken a set of stupid pills during the holidays but she had overdosed on the stuff and had come back twice as bad. She was cackling on the other side of the room, talking about how she had thrush and over varying illnesses – she even went on to talk about how she had got so hammered during the holidays that she couldn't remember the evening and woke up naked in someone else's house having possibly had a threesome.

Honestly, when that girl opened her mouth the IQ of the entire room dropped.

We had been set off on our work for the presentations, having to first make a pitch for how we wanted to go about presenting our work and what it was that we actually wanted to go into when we left college. I could hear Amelia typing away quickly on one side of me and Lina scribbling in a notebook the other side – the others there two but that much of a distance away that I couldn't really tell what they were up to. Turning my head slightly to the side, I looked up at Amelia's screen and watched as she continued to type away on Prezi making a very impressive start on her presentation. I, on the other hand, was pacing myself knowing that I would have nothing to do by the end of the week if I continued with the work I had started on the side when we were out in LA.

Instead, I got a notebook out of my backpack and opened it up to the pages where I had started to plan out the story I had been requested to write – you see, Amelia and I both accepted our offers in the end meaning that not only did we have the pressure of this exhibition to contend with we had the deadlines of official money earning projects too… In all honesty, the book was going to benefit me far more than this exhibition was but it would have been a waste of a year and half to drop out despite my many wishes to…

Actually, I tell a lie – I didn't want to drop out, I wanted Elizabeta to drop out. Preferably out of an aeroplane without a parachute but I was waiting until the very last day of term to tell her that.

"Arthur, are you okay?" asked Amelia, drawing my attention to the fact that her typing had ceased. I looked at her and took in her concerned expression, so smiled at her and nodded.

"Of course I am," I replied, not bothering to lower the volume of my voice. I was simply losing every inhibition that would have told me it was a bad idea to talk bad about the girl with the most influence in the room. "I'm just trying to ignore the babble of nonsense that's travelling around the room."

Amelia chuckled and shook her head, glancing over her shoulder at Elizabeta who didn't even seem to notice that I had started to slag her off right there in the classroom. "Do you think she looks fatter?"

"She's probably got herself knocked up," Lina smirked, leaning around me with a devious expression on her face. "I heard that she's slept with so many people unprotected in the past 2 months."

"Poor baby…" Amelia muttered, shuddering.

"No, poor us," I said. "If she is pregnant she'll get a freaking council house and benefits which the rest of us will end up paying."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The end of the day couldn't come soon enough for me, and because a couple of us had been sneaky enough we had swapped into the earlier class (Matthew's class) so we got to finish at 3pm rather than 5pm – meaning we got to go home so much earlier that I had enough time to just chill out in my house and not have to think about anything like the story or exhibition or my impending journey into the real world.

That's the one thing that school and college fail to teach you, at least in the area of the UK I lived in. We were taught all about history and Maths and computers and the like, but we were never really given any experience about how it would be like living out there in the big wide world when they finally let us go. For 14 years, we're settled into these routines of "get set a task", "do task", "hand in task at deadline or even just that little bit after", "get chance to improve grade X amount of times". But the real world isn't like that. You have to find the tasks for yourself, you don't have someone setting it out for you so simply; you have to get it right the first time because there are no do-overs, and you really have to do it on time because the real world is just a lot of time ticking away. When you're a teenager, you don't really think about these things because you're young and having fun and learning about who you are as a person – and some people will find that they are perfectly capable of being on their own in the world (in the working sense).

I laid on my bed and stared at the ceiling thinking about the abundance of characters that I had been around for the past two years, picking out who would do well in the world and who would make a farce of the chances they were constantly given. I guess I was just realising that I was in a state of existential crisis. But it really was a ridiculous notion to expect a teenager to know exactly where they wanted to go with their life and to be capable of making that decision straight away…

Leaning over to my desk, I picked up my phone as the ringtone I had set for Amelia went off. She had text me. _Love you Grumpy_. Rolling my eyes, I smiled fondly at the text and replied: _Love you too, Beautiful_.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

After weeks of preparation, the night of the exhibition had come around far too fast for any of our liking. The night before I had stayed round Amelia's to help her look after Arianna as her parents had wanted a night off, so we were able to hop on the bus pretty sharpish when we go the text from Sue to say that we would be need in earlier than they had been expecting.

The reason being we had to set up finally before the exhibition started at 4pm. Amelia was basically bouncing in her seat as we travelled to the college, a grin on her face from excitement and nerves. This was the last thing we had really had to do before the half term – and after that we had 2 weeks left but nothing really to fill the time. To tell the truth, I was frightened but I wasn't going to let her know that. 2 years had gone by so quickly with so much happening that it was hard to keep track – it didn't feel like 2 years at all…

To think back on all that had happened to us and how we had grown united as a group in such a short space of time was truly the greatest story that I could ever hope of writing. Remembering back on every little detail – how Antonio had jumped when he saw me that day in October, listening to his music and laughing about his sex life with Lovina; how Amelia had walked into the room in her Vans and American flag t-shirt looking like a lost sheep, the small look of trust that had shown on her face before she even knew my name; how Elizabeta had targeted her straight away for a prejudice she shouldn't have harboured, and how the Vargas sisters had stood by Amelia even though they had just met…

Getting off the bus with Amelia, we wandered round the building which we would be leaving in a matter of weeks and found the rooms where we would be setting up – our small group had been given a spot all our own because of our "astounding team effort" and "flawless attitude to work". The others were there already, sticking up their posters and putting together the final touches of the show reels they had made. Amelia logged into one of her computers and set about finishing the last little detail of her Prézumé (a résumé on Prezi) whilst I started putting up the graphics that I had been working on.

"It's scary isn't it," said Feliciana. She was stood on a desk hooking things into the bars in the ceiling to show case some model art she had created. "Today is the last day of term, but then what do we really have after that?"

"Who hasn't finished any coursework?" asked Lovina, sticking things to the stand she had set up on the middle tables of the classroom.

"Well, apart from the usual subjects," Lina said, spitting out the tack she had been holding between her teeth. "No one has any outstanding coursework, I think. I mean, even I don't."

"I have one piece I've got to email to Jenna," sighed Antonio. "She said my production schedule for the magazine wasn't good enough so I added more to it."

"That doesn't count though," Amelia said, glancing over her shoulder at him. "That's just proof work."

"True."

"So, the point still remains…" Matthew said, passing Feliciana another of her models. "We are nearly done here…"

"At least we have all those offers," chuckled Sophia, sitting against the table next to Lovina's display. "Amelia's been recording; Arthur's been writing; I've been asked into a marketing agency…"

"We've been asked into fashion agency," Lovina smiled. "Apprentice designers."

Antonio chuckled. "We're doing well," he said, but then grinned at us. "I did bring one thing extra." We looked at him in confusion as he ducked under the table only to grin as he pulled out his guitar bag for us to see. "Just in case."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Parents, employers, friends, family – they all showed up and wandered around the areas to see everyone's displays, but no one's room was as packed as ours. Just about everyone came into the room at 4pm onwards to get a glimpse of the work produced by "those talented children who were on the news".

It was a good thing that Antonio had brought his guitar because an hour and a half into the exhibition, requests started to come in for Amelia to do some singing – and so she did with a little help from our friend. Impressively, they came up with a totally improvised piece – he began to play and she sang the first thing that came to her mind.

"_You shout it out, but I can't hear a word you say_," she sang. "_I'm talking loud not saying much… I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet. You shoot me down, but I get up… I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose - fire away, fire away. Ricochet, you take your aim - fire away, fire away. You shoot me down but I won't fall; I am titanium. You shoot me down but I won't fall – I am titanium!_"

When the evening came to an end at 6pm, all our business cards had been taken and we had actually got the chance to sign autograph books… It was like we were real celebrities, and as lovely as it felt to be wanted it wasn't what I really cared about. People had actually talked about our topic more than us – they wanted to know about the charities and how they could help; and that was what made my night.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Our final day took us by surprise as we entered the classroom two weeks later. It was a Tuesday morning, our usual day of waiting around before going off to get food and delay coming back before another lesson. But this day we found our tutor, Tony, sat at the main table whilst Sue was working on a document at the staff Mac.

I glanced at the group awkwardly before making my way over to Tony and tilting my head a little. "Uh, are we allowed to come in…?" I asked stupidly. "We're not interrupting a meeting are we?"

"Not at all," replied Tony. He looked up at us and smiled. "Actually, I was hoping to bump into you lot first. I have the forms here that you need to sign about totally finishing today."

"What?" I blinked, looking at the others who looked just as startled.

"Yeah, as soon as you sign these you have no need to come back here anymore," Tony explained. "You're all up-to-date and high achievers – it would be stupid to have you sitting around her doing nothing whilst the others continue to catch up. You've earned this."

And so we got out our pens, took the forms and signed them.

I guess we were all pretty numb from how sudden it was – and how quickly we had left the room – but we were all sat outside by Antonio's car in a humbled silence. We were free but we had no clue what to do with such freedom… I looked up at the sky, so clear and blue for the first time in ages, and felt the sun warming my face. A smile came to my lips.

"Why don't we go to the beach?" I suggested. "Kill the hours our families assume us to be in this place and just…"

"Good idea," Matthew said, nodding his agreement.

"We can go buy some drinks too," smiled Lovina.

"An afternoon in the sun, drinking and being with you guys?" said Amelia. She smiled. "Sounds like a great idea."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

We couldn't stop laughing.

The sun on our skin, the feeling of having nothing to do, the alcohol, and the general company created simple bursts of endorphins that made us smile and laugh as we sat around on the beach.

I held my ribs as Antonio started chasing Lovina across the sand, glancing at Amelia as she nestled her head against my shoulder. Smiling softly, I held her and kissed the top of her head before looking out at the water.

Of all the things that had happened in the past 2 years, I was oh so grateful that I had got the chance to meet her. Despite the tragic circumstances behind it, it was the best thing to ever happen in my life…

I remembered her walking into that tiny little classroom clutching her timetable and looking so utterly lost; how she had accepted my offer for her to come and sit with me, to allow me to be her guide of the college even though I myself had only been there a month; the first time she sang in front of me and I felt the world calm down for a split second; the Valentine's Day when we first technically got together at our date in the park; how soft her lips were when I first got the chance to kiss her; the terror I felt when I thought I was losing her when that video was published onto the Internet; the sickness I felt when I saw her bleeding on the bathroom floor but the total relief when she thanked me for saving her life; the first time we made love; and now every time she sings and smiles and looks as though she has become the happiest person in the world.

It was all of those things and more which made me realise just how utterly in love with her I was – and as cheesy as it sounded even to me, I knew that I wanted to stay that way for a very long time.

And as she looked up at me, that soft, naturally beautiful smile on her lips, I knew that she wasn't the happiest person in the world.

I was.

_**Notes:**_

**I really don't know what more to say other than…**

**1 chapter to go, my friends.**

**Thank you so much for supporting me and this story – I love all of you so much for it :) **

**Until next time guys :3**


	30. Future

**Reputation**

**Chapter Thirty**

**Future**

I was surprised just how well life could really go for a person when they tried their hardest. As soon as I got home from the beach that evening, I went straight to my bedroom ignoring the comments coming from the living room from my parents about where I had been and why I hadn't told them that that day was going to be my last day of college. I really didn't care about anything they had to say at that moment, they were just being so negative and I really didn't need that kind of atmosphere.

I shut the door quietly but quickly, putting up my usual barricade of shoes and boxes to keep out my parents and my younger brother so that I could have my room to myself for once and be able to work with my sudden burst of inspiration. I loved that my friends were the biggest form of inspiration in my life – and knowing that they were going to be around because of this amazing connection we had built over the past two years was just the greatest feeling in the world.

I loaded up my laptop as soon as I could, waiting for the log in screen to pop up before signing myself in and opening the folder I had created which held all the notes and warm up sheets I had created for the story I had been asked to create. Whilst it all loaded, I put on some quite music in the background – a playlist I had created of modern music put into classic covers (no lyrics, just the soundtrack) which seemed to help boost my creativity to no end. I sat down at my desk and looked through the notes quickly, clicking onto the document that held the starting point for the very first chapter and deleting everything I had started – I didn't like how that had turned out one little bit as I had started to write it under pressure of wanting something brilliant, but the mood I was in now gave me the confidence to be able to work on something totally new that would tell the story in a completely different way.

I lost track of how long I had been in my bedroom writing – I had continually ignored any attempts to get in touch with me or the knocks on my door or shouts of my name from my parents, knowing that if I stopped writing it would be a very difficult process to get back into the same mind-set I had gotten myself into that time.

By the end of the evening, when I finally glanced at the clock at around 11:45pm, I had managed to complete 10 pages of the first chapter – a feat in itself as I used to average around 4 to 6 pages on stories in the past. I saved the document as soon as I could, turning everything off and getting myself ready for bed; I would be working myself nonstop to get this first draft completed quickly and efficiently – and at the rate I had been going so far, I would likely have the story done by the end of the week.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

My prediction was correct – I managed to get the first draft of the story completed on the Friday evening at roughly 9:30pm. I was tired as hell but the smile on my face was something that would never be able to be taken from me again as I looked at the thirty documents in that tiny folder on my hard drive. I backed them up onto my memory stick and took the tiny device downstairs to the living room where the main house PC was located – Mum's netbook had broken the week prior thanks to a lovely substance known as red wine getting spilled accidentally over the keys, so she used that a lot more now than she used to but luckily she wasn't in at that moment (she and Dad had gone to the cinema with Peter).

After it had loaded and I had plugged in the USB stick, I started to print out every single page to make the completed manuscript – at the same time as the printing I logged into my emails and sent a detailed message to the agency that had asked me for this story (well, the editor who would have to go over it really, but it was a joint system) to let them know that it had been completed and was ready for them to look over whenever they wanted me to send it off or for them to come and collect it.

It was a really scary feeling really, looking at the manuscript of a story that was actually going to be published and sent out into the big wide world. It was a feeling like no other – it was terrifying yet amazing at the very same time, two contrasting emotions colliding inside my head and making a fluttering inside my chest and a churning inside my stomach.

I loaded Skype whilst I was still logged into my account, signing in and looking at the contacts to see if the one person I wanted to talk to was online.

She was.

"Hey," I grinned at her when the webchat was connected, Amelia looking back at me and tilting her head.

"Who are you?" she asked jokingly, smirking at me as I hadn't spoken to her all week because of my work load.

"Charming that is," I laughed, shaking my head at her. "You'll be happy to hear that the first draft of that story is completed!"

"Oh that's wonderful!" grinned Amelia, clapping her hands together. "How many drafts will you need to do?"

"Depends on how much they like of this one…" I replied. "They could chop and change it so many times, but I really have no idea. They could really like this one and that'll be the one to get published. I mean, I've gone over those things tons of times to make sure there were no little spelling mistakes and that every single sentence made sense but I just don't know…"

"They should really just appreciate your talent," she said, looking at me softly. "You are a fantastic writer that needs a lot more recognition. Everything will come together for you in the end."

"For us," I corrected, smiling at her. "We're in this together, remember. Your singing, my story. We're both going to do well, I can just feel it. But a lot of hard work is going to have to go into making sure we create things the best we can."

"We're both doing fine," Amelia chuckled. "Hard work it may be, but we are both doing extremely well."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

It took two more drafts before the story was ready for publishing, but that was double checking and rechecking. The day I was told the story was going into print I was sat in the control room area of the recording studio listening to Amelia recording another song for the CD. I never realised just how much time went into recording one song alone, but it was a really interesting process to watch.

I got some dirty looks from the guy at the mixing desk when my phone went off, but Amelia hadn't noticed so what was the big deal… I left the room quickly and answered the phone, nearly dropping it when I got told the news…

Amelia was over the moon when I told her when her recording session was over, hugging me tightly and beaming from ear to ear. I couldn't contain my happiness at that moment, sweeping her off her feet as I hugged her back, grinning too and spinning slightly. She laughed and held onto my tightly, everything going so right for us since college had ended. I couldn't help but wonder when the bump in the road would come but then I realised… college was that bump in the road. We had had our heartbreaks, our terror and downfall, and now we were working hard to build ourselves up from those experiences.

The day the book came out I was given the very first copy, but gave to Amelia. It was dedicated to her after all – she joked around with me though and got me to sign the book for her to show that this was the real deal. I had a published novel and standing in the store just looking at it there on the special shelf of new releases with the large promotion posters all around and people queuing up to meet me and get their copies signed was like I had stepped into a novel myself.

Everyone's events were spread out over the course of a week so they could get us on the news again as a large group – the clothes lines, the CD, my novel, the designing and photography, acting kick-starters. I was so proud of everything we were all achieving – so much so that I decided to make an entire video talking about what we were all doing and how it was all raising further money for the charity; I shared the front cover of my book, extracts of Amelia's music, photos from Antonio, Lovina and Feliciana's clothes… Everything I could to share this joy and links to where they could continue to donate to the charity.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Over the years that followed, we all kept in touch but continued on with our own career paths as well as the YouTube channel; though that ended up slowly falling into the background as our lives grew ever more public.

Because of the money I was earning from the book sales my parents decided that it was time I left the house. They gave me until the end of the summer to find a place of my own and move out because after that point they weren't going to tolerate me being there because my siblings had left at that age before me.

It wasn't a problem really – Amelia was earning a lot from her music so we pooled together our resources and bought a small house in a really nice area nearby the town. It was an area that had a very good reputation, good housing, good schools… plus I used to go to the swimming centre in the area all the time when I was in primary school. The house we had bought wasn't anything spectacular, it was really only a bungalow but it was so beautiful – the outer walls were white, the grass was so green (greener than anything I had ever seen before), there were colourful flowers near the walls under the windows, and the inside was fully furnished just how we both liked it.

I looked over at Amelia as she started to unpack her clothes into one of the two wardrobes in our bedroom – she was wearing a cropped vest top that showed off her waist and stomach, her hair was tied back into a pony tail and she had on simple sweatpants, and she looked absolutely beautiful. She looked over at me and smiled, tilting her head a little as I continued to watch her.

"Arthur?"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay over there?"

"Yeah," I replied, moving over to her and smiling. "I'm just happy we're actually doing this…"

"It would have been a lot nicer if your parents hadn't pushed you so hard to get out of the house," Amelia said, standing up and placing her hands on my arms. "But yeah, I love that we're doing this. Our own little home, all for ourselves." She smiled up at me, leaning on her tiptoes and kissing me softly. I held her waist and kissed her back, smiling into it.

Life in our new home was fantastic, we were growing up further – paying bills, taxes, going out on dates or meet-ups with our friends; not to mention the 'celebrity' stuff that happened from time to time thanks to 2 more CDs from Amie and 4 books from me. I wouldn't have changed it for anything in the world though.

By the time I turned 24 (she was still 23), I was ready to progress further with our relationship – so on the anniversary of the day we had gotten together, I took her back to the very park where we had our first day and repeated the events. Then I pulled out the ring box.

It took her a moment to regain herself, and all those minutes my heart was beating hard in my chest, but then she hugged me tightly and said yes.

I had finally found something that gave me a happier feeling than our success when I slipped that ring onto her finger, and I had never known before just how wonderful the word 'yes' truly sounded.

I am content for the time being just lying in our bed, holding her and looking at the ring on her finger. We're still only young, but from the outside we have the reputation of people much older than us. That's really what life is about, isn't it? Making a difference and proving to the world that you are capable of great things but doing it with someone that makes you better. Amelia did that to me, and I will spend every day of the rest of my life making sure she knows just how much she means to me.

Perhaps there will be a second book in this real life saga, a further look into our lives from our words, but for now this will have to do. The path we took to get us to this point was long and harsh, but now we are on a new line with our friends and family alongside us and nothing ever seemed as sweet.

_**Notes:**_

**And that's it…**

**My God it's weird to be at the end of this story… It's kind of a pinnacle point for me as this has been my companion throughout the 2 years I've been at college – both are ending and it's a little scary.**

**I will indeed go onto write a bit more of this universe though – not a large sequel though, just off-shots most likely, like the wedding and anything further (they'll end up grouped together though so it may end up as another story. I've not thought that far ahead).**

**Thank you all for sticking with me with throughout this story for so long – I love you all so much and hope you will stick around for the other stories I have planned.**

**Let me just say, they include Supernatural AUs, FRIENDS AUs and others :)**

**LOVE YA GUYS!**


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